
' %LM<i<^. 



13 18 



iaa\ 



LEAVES 



FROM MY DIARY, 



COXTAINING 



Incidents Connected with a Sea Voyage 



TAKEN MA T 20, 1899, 



FROM NEV/ YORK TO NAPLES. 



BY / 

MRS. JULIA P. WILSON. 



NORWALK, CONN.: 
Printed by H. M. Gardner. 



1900. 



Library of Cono ''«'''« 

FEB 18 i9ul 

fovvni^rn Miry 

SECOND COPY 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1900, 

By Julia P. Wilson, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



% 



V y 



PREFACE 



From my diary I have simply written out this trip, addinf; thereto 
the pictures and incidents suggested to my mind's eye — by the glance 
backwards. It has been written solely for future reference, and as an 
aid to keep fresh in mind the delightful associations connected with the 
trip. If its perusal can give any pleasure to my friends, I shall be more 
than satisfied. 

The Author. 



Xeaves from (Wi^ IDiar^, 

CO NT A INING 

1Inct^cnt5 (Ionncctc^ with a Sea IDo^age 

Taken May 20, 1899, from New York to Naples. 



There is somethinj^ very interesting, and I might also say 
fascinating, about planning one's first trip to Europe. You 
ply your friends who have traveled with questions as to the 
articles necessary for your wardrobe ; you feel as if you need- 
ed to refresh your memory with all the historical lore that a 
year's careful cramming would furnish ; you have to arrange 
your affairs, as far as possible, for many months' absence, and 
finally leave without having given heed to but a meagre por- 
tion of the advice ofTered you by your friends, as to your phy- 
sical needs and comforts, with but a scanty revision of histori- 
cal facts and with a score of matters unattended to. 

The long looked-for day you are to sail arrives, and you 
find that it requires considerable courage to board the steamer, 
hear the bell sound, which warns your friends who have ac- 
companied you on board to leave, bid good-by to them all, see 
the gang-plank taken up, know by the working of the ma- 
chinery that you have started, and wave a long adieu to the 
dear ones you leave on the wharf, as their receding forms be- 
come a mere speck upon your strained vision, and you steam 
away from the country you have loved and lived in all your 
life, to other countries not your own. 

You turn away from the rail with tears in your eyes, but 
the conviction immediately comes over you with great force. 



6 Leaves from My Diary. 

that you have started and there is no turning back ; so, as the 
best panacea for all ills is work of some sort, you go to your 
state-room, put on your steamer clothes, take a survey of the 
apartment which is to be your abiding place during the voyage 
and carefully gauge the number of pegs and the few racks for 
holding your necessary belongings, and also compute the num- 
ber of square feet you and your companion are each entitled 
to. Your thoughts almost instinctively revert to your nice 
room at home, its commodious drawers and closets and stand- 
ing room also, and you involuntarily sigh ; and then you look 
up and and see two life preservers, and if you are inclined to 
be a bit timid, you just shudder a little when you remember 
what emergencies they suggest. 

You go up on deck and try to interest yourself in the sky 
and water, (for you are now out of sight of land) but you 
have parted with your dear ones too recently to take much 
interest in anything. As tlie sea is calm, you take luncheon 
and dinner in the saloon and congratulate yourself that you 
are impervious to sea-sickness. You retire early, for you find 
yourself very tired after the excitement of the start. 

We were awakened by a terrible crash in the early morn- 
ing, but as I had been warned that it would take some little 
time to become accustomed to the sounds on shipboard, I did 
not let this disturb me much, hoping that no serious disaster 
had occurred. My friend descended from the upper berth and 
commenced dressing, but as the steamer was rolling consider- 
ably she soon felt sick. To my inquiry whether I could not 
assist her in some way, there were unmistakable evidences that 
she wished to be let entirely alone. Her innate pluck and en- 
ergy, however, enabled her to dress and go out on deck in a 
remarkably short space of time. I was feeling so comfortable 
where I was that I did not change my location for quite a 



Leaves from My Diary. 7 

while. At last I thought I would rise and try to persuade 
myself that I should not be sick. I did so, and had just put on 
my shoes and stockings, when oh ! I wished I hadn't, for I felt 
sure that I should have to remain in a recumbent position dur- 
ing the remainder of the voyage if my present feelings were 
to continue. Why do people invariably smile at sea-sickness? 
I am sure I felt for a time as if I should never smile again. I 
reclined on the lounge, but was miserable there. I knew that 
if I could only get out into the air I should feel better. I 
looked at each article of my clothing and calculated how many 
times I would have to lie down before I could get fully dressed. 
It was several steps to the wash-bowl, and how could I get 
there, and then how could I ever hold my head up long enough 
to comb my hair ! After several desperate efforts all these 
feats were accomplished, but I don't believe I should have re- 
fused assistance had there been any at hand. 

After another season of reclining and deliberating on how 
I was to stand up on that lounge and reach my wrap and cap, 
I finally accomplished all these seeming impossibilities, emerged 
from my state-room and reached the deck. The air revived 
me, but I did not feel very lively, though I did not have to lean 
over the railing every few minutes, as some of my fellow-pas- 
sengers did. Simple meals were served us on deck, but it was 
quite aggravating to have the only well member of the party, 
who was able to go to all his meals, dilate upon the choice 
viands served in the saloon. 

Were it not that in most cases one is compelled very soon 
to pay tribute to the sea, and thus her thoughts are turned in 
upon herself, the heart or home-sickness would be unendura- 
ble ; but, as some one has said, "there is a wise compensation 
in all things," so, it may be, there is a wise dispensation in this 
required tribute to the sea. There may be varied opinions 



8 Leaves from My Diary. 

with regard to this ; but if, as in my own case, one is fortunate 
enough to have satisfied old ocean's demands in two days, then 
he or she can give some attention to the ship, and look around 
a little among the passengers. 

Tipped back in your steamer chair, with your rug nicely 
tucked in around you, you have a nice point of observation as 
the groups pass by, promenading on deck, for exercise. You 
are at once interested, the air is invigorating, the steamer is 
moving along quietly, and you begin to enter into the life on 
shipboard with considerable zest and real enjoyment. The sea 
roughens a little and the steamer begins to roll. You watch 
the passengers as they try to keep up their exercise. At last 
your neighbor suggests that you take a little stroll. You find 
it necessary to come down to first principles and learn how to 
walk, for part of the time one limb you find should be shorter 
than the other, and then the short one needs lengthening. 
After some droll experiences, you become quite an expert, in 
this shifting process ; but it is very amusing to see some very 
dignified individual (man, of course) assume to be utterly in- 
different to such requirements, and then to see his look of dis- 
gust when he finds that he must follow the same rules that 
apply to ordinary mortals. 

One usually lays in a large supply of books, and expects 
to do much reading on the voyage. In this one is usually dis- 
appointed, for much time is consumed with the three meals, 
served in the saloon, and the two light lunches on deck. 
Breakfast at eight ; ham, tongue and cheese sandwiches at 
eleven ; luncheon at one ; lemonade ami wafers at four ; and 
dinner at seven. 

Exercise, of course, is quite essential, and promenades 
around the deck are indulged in many times during the day 
and evening. x\t lo A. M. the band plays a number of selec- 



Leaves from My Diary. g 

tions, and this is very enlivening, though this is peculiar, I 
believe, to the German steamers, as music is one of their spe- 
cialties. At twelve, or half-past, you find yourself consulting 
the ship's log, and are quite astonished at your enthusiasm 
when a particularly good day's run has been made. The offi- 
cer in charge used to pin a little flag on the chart, indicating 
the point we had reached daily on the imaginary line, drawn 
between New York and Naples. 

After a few days you find yourself consulting the ship's 
passenger list, as one and another greet you, and trying to lo- 
cate them — by their steamer chairs. One often finds a familiar 
name, and perhaps, as in my own case, one bearing my mai- 
den name. 

Many times during the day do the passengers look over 
the rail, down upon the motley group quartered below, in the 
steerage. Men, women and children sit and lie outstretched 
upon the deck, clad in various colored garments, some strong 
and well, and others pale and sickly. The contrast between 
their food — soup taken in tin ladles, with large chunks of 
bread, and the luxurious course dinners served the cabin pas- 
sengers, the band playing during the meal — is very marked. 
When basking in the sun and when the sea was comparatively 
calm, they had their diversions and seemed very happy. Many 
a night have I listened to their songs, and seen them trip the 
" light, fantastic toe," to the music of an accordion, or to the 
hum of their own voices. I could not keep them out of my 
mind, though, when for two days, while the steamer was pitch- 
ing terribly and the huge waves swept over their deck, they 
were locked down below. A gentleman told me, who passed 
through their quarters afterward, that the filthy condition of 
their berths was almost indescribable, as they ate, drank and 
slept in them, in the most indiscriminate manner. It is a fact, 



10 Leaves from My Diary. 

I am told, that the mattresses and pillows are clean when they 
leave port, but have to be thrown overboard at the end of 
the voyage. 

We were alone, as it seemed, upon the broad and track- 
less ocean for a number of days, for not a boat did we pass, 
and so could fully appreciate the cry, " a sail, a sail !" Imme- 
diately the passengers were astir. Everyone rushed to the 
side whence proceeded the sound. Field and opera glasses 
were at once brought into position, for one was indeed fortu- 
nate, who, with the naked eye could even descry a tiny curl 
of smoke on the distant horizon. One can hardly understand 
the feeling of companionship that comes over people when 
they know that another steamer is in sight, and no one is will- 
ing to turn their gaze away until the last curl of smoke fades 
in the dim distance. 

Another sound often summons the passengers with a rush 
to one side of the ship : "a whale, a whale!" Not until my 
return passage was I fortunate enough to see one of those 
monsters of the sea ; but large porpoises, jumping out of the 
water, were very numerous, and I think were often called 
whales, though some were sure they saw them spout. 

Very interesting to some of the passengers was the change 
of the watch, when the one, two or three men on the lookout 
(as the need may be) descended from their high perch, and 
others took their places. These men were stationed high up 
on the mast, on the bow of the steamer, with seemingly no 
protection from the wind or storms. Through cold and heat, 
day and night, through storm and sunshine, they ever peer out 
ahead, and their watch is never relaxed. 

We never saw the men who kept up their incessant labors 
down below, feeding the fires in order to keep up that cease- 
less throb of the engines ; but we wore allowed, in good wea- 



Leaves from My Diary. ii 

ther, to go upon the " bridge," where were stationed our good 
captain and his able corps of officers. The signals of com- 
munication between the men on the lookout, the officers on 
the bridge, and those at work below, were so complete and so 
noiseless in their operation, and the discipline on board so per- 
fect, that we were greatly impressed with the marks and re- 
quirements of good seamanship. 

The children on board contribute very greatly to the de- 
light of the voyage. Their devoted parents, having thrown 
aside all care, enter into their games and pastimes with great 
zest. Shovel-Board and Ring Throwing seemed to be the 
favorite games, and young and old vied with each other in 
tests of strength and agility. 

Our captain took a stroll along the deck every morning, 
and so gracious was his bow, and so pleasant were the words 
he exchanged with each and every one, that those who were 
not in their chairs to receive his kindly greeting, seemed to 
have missed something really essential from their daily lives. 
The waive of his hand and the graciousness of his manner 
were unequalled, and his gentlemanly bearing not exceeded 
by one of the passengers. A good captain traverses every 
portion of his ship daily, and a fellow passenger told me that 
wherever he happened to go, there he met, at some time, our 
captain. The scrupulous cleanliness of every portion of the 
steamer seemed to attest his ever-watchful eye. 

Memorial Day upon the ocean was fittingly commemo- 
rated by speeches and song. Mr. Cornelius Dodge was on 
board, with his family. He was Master of Ceremonies on 
this occasion, and the exercises closed with a grand promenade 
around the deck, all joining in singing our national songs. 

An entertainment was given for the benefit of widows 
and orphans of sailors, which was really a fine affair, revealing 



12 Leaves from My Diary. 

to us the varied talents of the passengers e?i route. We hud a 
reverend madam, a professor from Boston, elocutionists of 
marked ability, musicians of high culture, orators, both hu- 
morous and sedate, as well as those capable of giving us the 
clog dance with great spirit and eclat. 

The special entertainment for the young was the trans- 
formation, in a twinkling as it seemed, of our side of tlie 
steamer, while we were down to dinner, into a beautiful danc- 
ing hall, by the profuse draping with flags and the wiring 
with red, white and blue electric lights. To the rythm of the 
music of the band couples whirled and glided into the wee, 
small hours of the night. 

On our first Sabbath out, before we left our state-room, 
the band played " Nearer, my God, to Thee," and as the sweet 
strains reached our ears it seemed as if it had never sounded 
so beautiful before. We had no other service, as, perhaps, 
this was deemed to be all that was necessary, though I do not 
think our captain felt like one I heard of, who, when ap- 
proached by a passenger who desired permission to hold a 
service in the saloon, said : " Mein Gott ! what more do you 
want! Didn't the band play '"Nearer, my God, to Thee.'" 

On our second Sunday we had a most acceptable service. 
Professor Brown read a portion of Scripture, Mrs. Chapin of 
Mt. Vernon preached, Madame Hesse sang " The Holy City," 
and all the passengers joined in the singing of the hymns. 

On the morning of May 26th all rose early, as our captain 
had promised us a sight of the Azores, he sailing fifteen miles 
out of his course in order to give us this pleasure. At 5.30 
A. M. we were on deck, with opera and field glasses in hand, 
though a good view of the islands was revealed without these 
aids, to the naked eye. They are of volcanic formation, nine 
in all, and rise out of the water to quite a considerable height. 



Leaves from My Diary. ij 

the sides of the mountains being cultivated, even to their very 
tops. Hedges divide the various vineyards and fields, and as 
these patches are of various colors, according to the crops, the 
whole presented a lovely and picturesque appearance. We 
could descry on each a monastery, windmills, bridges, etc., and 
the low, white houses, with red-tiled roofs, and the picture 
was ever varied and interesting. We did not reach the larg- 
est, San Miguel, until about 3 P. M., and were from that time 
until 6 in passing. We next went up on the bridge, from 
which we had a most charming view. There is upon this 
island a mountain peak called Pico, as high as our Mt. Washing- 
ton. I wish I might picture the panorama which opened to 
our vision on that eventful day. I have spoken of the ever- 
varying hues, but I can hardly make real the velvety greens 
of the vineyards, the lighter ones of the ripening grains, the 
dense foliage of the olives, and for a background, or rather on 
the sides of the mountain, the cocoanut palms, with their co- 
rona-shaped foliage, on the tops of their bare and leafless 
trunks. No language can fully portray .the beauties of that 
ever-changing scene. There are forty towns on this one is- 
land, and when we thought we had passed all of importance, 
a surprise overtook us as we rounded the extreme corner of 
the island, in the form of a snug harbor and a very large set- 
tlement consisting of high buildings, tall chimneys, extensive 
manufactories, and even the iron horse and the inevitable 
freight train. A large man-of-war was anchored near, and 
the shipping appeared to be of no mean proportions. 

Our next sight of land was nature's bulwark and fortress 
— Gibraltar. Here, after nine days upon the ocean, we were 
to land for a stay of from three to five hours. We anchored 
in the bay and were to be taken to the shore in small steam 
launches. The scene was a memorable one. Gibraltar, with 



7^ Leaves from My Diary. 

its tier upon tier of houses upon its sides, loomed up before 
us in all its mighty grandeur. The bay was studded with 
small boats, manned by men of various nationalities, in all 
sorts of fantastic costumes. These rowed up alongside our 
steamer and plied their various arts, each in their own inimit- 
able way. Their boats were laden with fruits and other pro- 
duce. So absorbed were we in contemplation of this pictur- 
esque scene, that one launch was filled and ofi" before we 
realized what was going on. Coming back to our senses, we 
made our way to the second launch and succeeded in boarding 
her. The landing on the wharf was soon eflfected, but what 
a motley group met us there! Men, women and children — 
Moors, Spaniards, Jews and English — all plying their trades 
and trying to make themselves useful to us, in some way, for 
the inevitable backsheesh. At last we freed ourselves and 
took carriage for a drive. 

Up long, narrow and very steep roads we made our way, 
the people on the streets dodging into open doorways or shops, 
to let us pass, for there are no sidewalks, and ever and anon 
did we see the natives peering at us from the windows of the 
houses along the line. These houses did not strike us as plea- 
sant, but really as quite unattractive. The nice residences, 
however, were reached by steps which led from these streets 
up to the tiers upon its sides, upon which they were built. 
Occasionally we met a fine English carriage, with its occu- 
pants ; but little donkeys, heavily laden with bags of charcoal, 
curious vehicles and drags, were in evidence everywhere. We 
finally reached the English Gallery, where we were obliged to 
record our names, and then went into an old Moorish castle, 
or rather through the entrance. This, of course, was exce'ed- 
ingly interesting, and from this height we got glimpses of a 
fleet upon the Mediterranean and saw something of the forti- 



Leaves from My Diary. i$ 

fications of Gibraltar, and also a little of the Spanish quar- 
ters. 

We were then driven to the Alhambra, a most beautiful 
garden. Ascending the flight of steps, we wandered along 
its many paths where were luxuriantly growing orange, palm, 
pine, banana, fig, magnolia, and almost every kind of a tree ; 
roses of every hue, in great profusion ; flowei-s peculiar to this 
climate, "as well as those familiar to us in our own States; 
bridges, bowers and vines; and you can just imagine into 
what ecstasies we went over such transcendent loveliness and 
beauty. 

We then drove to the Spanish quarter. All along the 
way, and in fact everywhere, there were the most luxuriant . 
vines overhanging the walls, and especially noticable were 
large blue morning glories, wide open at mid day, the effect of 
the blue against the green being very fine. Just as we were 
getting on board the launch to return to the steamer, men 
bearing strawberries, arranged so as to look very inviting, 
called out, " These are American and English strawberries." 
For ten cents a little fellow lowered to me, in a basket, one 
dozen and a half of the most luscious oranges I ever tasted in 
my life. 

The next day we had entered upon the Mediterranean — 
that sea so lauded in poetry and song for serenity and for its 
ethereal blue. We supposed that our buffeting by waves was 
surely over and that the rest of the voyage would be one of 
placidity and quiet. We were doomed to disappointment, 
however, for no sooner were we well under way, than we en- 
countered waves of huge proportions. They piled one upon 
the other with great fury, and it seemed as if they were actu- 
ally from fifteen to twenty feet high. The steamer pitched 
terribly, and one and another sought their berths below. At 



1 6 Leaves from My Diary. 

last, after several days, the wind calmed down, the sea abated, 
and my dream was realized, for the color was so intensely blue 
as to fully account for all its prestige and glory. 

The Captain's Dinner, as it is called, takes place near the 
end of the voyage, and reveals the fact that even upon the 
high seas, tables can be decorated in a most artistic manner, 
viands can be served in most delectable forms, and mirth and 
festivity abound even while old ocean is displaying most won- 
derful activity without. It may seem almost superfluous to 
describe the procession of waiters who, when lights were 
turned down, burst in upon us, some bearing Chinese lanterns 
and dainty fairy lamps, others platters of ice cream, and 
when the circuit of the saloon had been twice made, deposit- 
ing their platters upon the various tables, and serving the same 
as the electric lights were turned on, and the place was filled 
with the applause of the passengers. We, at this time, missed 
the speech of the captain, for pleasure had to be sacrificed to 
duty, as his presence was needed outside, so boisterous was 
the sea. Three hours, however, did we linger at the table, all 
leaving it decorated with paper cups of fantastic shapes, and 
each with a souvenir, in the form of a small Japanese parasol 
and various small flags with which the pyramids on each table 
were adorned. A transparency, bearing in English and Ger- 
man, the words " Good-bye," stood in front of the piano, sug- 
gesting that the end of the voyage was near. 

Now there is nothing more to write of, save the closing 
hours of our voyage. Our trunks must be packed, our travel- 
ing suits donned, and we must get ready to leave the steamer, 
which had been our home for nearly twelve days. 

" Come up on the bridge " was the next cry, " We are en- 
tering the Bay of Naples." What can I say and how can I 
picture this most delightful scene? It was just at sunset, on 



Leaves from My Diary. IJ 

the first day of June. With Sorrento and Capri on our left, 
and Vesuvius belching forth smoke and fire on our right, the 
beautiful horse-shoe part of the bay, Naples spread out upon 
the hill before us, the Italian sky and balmy atmosphere, what 
could be more surpassingly beautiful ! 

We lingered and lingered, but as all things, good as well 
as bad, must have an end, so, with adieus to captain, oflficers 
and friends, we prepared to leave the steamer, so soon to an- 
chor in the bay. A lighter appeared, and from the bow we 
saw the stalwart form of Mr. Byington, with his hat waving, 
and hastening to return the salute, we felt that we were wel- 
come even to this foreign shore. In a minute, as it were, every 
conceivable kind of a boat was afloat and nearing us, and be- 
fore we were fairly anchored runners from every hotel rushed 
aboard. Though all was confusion, we made our way to the 
lighter and were soon landed at the custom-house. And thus 
ended our outward trip of twelve days on the German-Lloyd 
Steamer Saale, J. Morrow, commander. 



maples an^ its lEnvlrone, 



After leaving the steamer we were soon landed by the 
lighter on the Italian shore, at the steps leading to the Custom 
House at Naples. With the help of our consul, Mr. Byington, 
the officials graciously checked off our hand-baggage — our 
trunks not yet having arrived — and we entered a carriage and 
were driven to the Victoria Hotel. Here we were assigned 
very pleasant and commodious rooms fronting a portion of the 
delightful bay. Dinner having been served on the steamer at 
5 P. M., we felt ready and anxious to retire. Mr. Marvin and 
Wallace, however, who were wrestling with the Custom 
House officials with reference to our trunks, did not arrive 
until lo P. M. Weary and exhausted, we laid ourselves down 
to rest and did not waken until late the following morning. 

After a Continental breakfast of rolls, unsalted butter 
and coffee, we strolled out for a walk. But a little way from 
this hotel was a most lovely park, and here we wandered for 
quite a distance through avenues overarched with lovely, but 
to us, strange trees, and here we met and passed peasants and 
ladies, workmen and gentlemen, all conversing in an unknown 
tongue, some being most curiously attired. We felt like sit- 
ting down to watch this strange procession, but as the stone 
and marble settees proved rather hard and chilling, we made 
our way to some chairs which looked specially inviting. We 
seated ourselves and proceeded to take in this lovely scenery, 
to comment on tlie passing throng, and to give ourselves up to 
the occasion, when we were gently reminded by a man who 
presented himself before us, that we must pay for the privilege 
of using the chairs. As we were not provided with the small 



Leaves from My Diary. ip 

denominations current in this country, there was no other way 
than to vacate and move on. This we did, and soon made 
our way to the stores. A jewelry store was the first to entice 
us within its doors, and here we found the most lovely pink 
coral in manifold creations, and tortoise-shell combinations of 
every conceivable style. A gentleman who spoke English 
fluently told us of the intrinsic merits of each, and we felt 
tempted to invest at once, but wiser counsels prevailed, as we 
thought then, and we did not do it, but to this day we have 
regretted that we did not bring home with us something from 
this beautiful collection. 

After luncheon and a rest, we took a most delightful drive 
from 3.30 to 7.30, returning in time for dinner. It would 
hardly be possible to describe all the lovely villas we passed 
on this drive. The streets are for the most part narrow and 
the buildings high. The majority of the people, I should 
judge, live in flats. The villas are surrounded by high walls 
built of concrete or plaster, as are most of the houses, and 
their walls included acres of ground, laid out with trees and 
shrubs of every kind, and flowers of every hue, with roads 
leading up to the dwelling, and circling through all this tropi- 
cal luxuriousness. Vines, roses and ivy overhang the walls, 
and often these villas command a view of the beautiful bay and 
tiie grand promenade skirting its varied outlines. Time and 
time again was the carriage stopped for us to feast on the 
magnificent view, and it seemed as if, nowhere else, could 
there be such charming, dreamy luxuriance as in lovely Na- 
ples. For a mile or two we drove, on our return to the hotel, 
over this boulevard, which, in most varied curves, follows the 
banks of this bay, and met, in turnouts as varied and magnifi- 
cent as those in our own famous watering places, the aristoc- 
racy and nobility of Italy. 



20 Leaves from My Diary. 

There are drawbacks, however, to all this loveliness. I 
refer to the miserable specimens of humanity that follow your 
carriage, thrusting their hands in your faces and running with 
you for a mile, if need be, until you throw them the coveted 
backsheesh to rid yourself of their presence. Everything is 
resorted to to gain money from the foreigners. Little boys 
turn somersaults by the side of your carriage, and really it 
seems so ludicrous that they win the inevitable coin. 

The persistence of the cabmen I never saw equalled. 
They were on the watch the moment we left the hotel ; they 
drove to us, by us and in front of us, and would not be con- 
vinced, though we said so over and over again, that we did 
not want their services. 

While at dinner the sublime strains of music were wafted 
to our ears, and on our exit from the dining-room we found, 
gathered in the vestibule of the hotel, six Italian girls, clad in 
their own gay, peculiar costumes, and three men with violins, 
guitar, tambourine and castanets, ready to entertain us with 
songs and dances, and in their own inimitable way, execute 
such a medley of gyrations as to overwhelm us at first with 
their ludicrousness and afterwards to sicken us with their 
frivolity. I have never liked to think that I was evolved from 
a monkey, but I must say that the leader of this troupe was 
the most monkeyish specimen of humanity it had ever been 
my fortune to set eyes upon. The hat was passed three or 
four times before I retired from the scene, but strains of music 
were long after wafted to my room, and the last glimpse I had 
of this monkey he was on his knees, with his head between 
the limbs of a man who had his hands raised and ready to hit 
his head when he bobbed it up, and yet he failed to receive a 
blow, so agile was he, and he seemed to be as pleased with his 
success as one would be if he had been instrumental in pass- 



Leaves front My Diary. 21 

ing through both houses of Congress some bill which would 
tend to the elevation of the whole human race. 

The morning of June 3rd, 1899, was spent at the Tvluse- 
um, where we found a large collection of paintings taken 
from Herculaneum and Pompeii : the largest collection of 
bronzes in the world, beautiful statuary, and one or two Ra- 
phaels and one Correggio. As a sort of recreation after the 
weariness that attends a visit to a gallery, we rode through 
the business section of Naples and visited some of the shops. 
The cards of Mr. and Mrs. Byington were sent to us while at 
dinner, and the evening was very pleasantly spent with them, 
talking of home scenes and the beauties and drawbacks of 
Naples. 

Early Sunday morning we were awakened by the clank 
of hoofs on the stone pavement. I leaped out of bed, and, 
peering through the blinds, saw troops of horses passing. As 
I was just ready to doze off again, sounds of music came to 
my ears, so I rose and proceeded to dress, for soon troops of 
Italian soldiers were passing, headed by a brass band, and 
these were followed by artillery and cavalry, and for three- 
quarters of an hour there was marching and counter-march- 
ing, and great excitement on the street. The soldiers were on 
dress parade, as Sunday seemed to be a gala day in Naples. 

After breakfast we were summoned to see the Princess in 
her carriage, and she acknowledged the salutes of the people 
very graciously as she passed. 

We inquired at the hotel for a Presbyterian Church, and 
were told of one, but had great difficulty in finding it. The 
Cathedrals and Catholic Churches are well known by the 
police, but few are cognizant of the existence of any other 
denomination. After many inquiries and some little confusion 
in threading our way through the crowds, we turned down a 



22 Leaves from My Diary. 

narrow street or alley, vainly looking for any building bearing 
the semblance to a church. Our attention was attracted to a 
notice on an ordinary building, and here we found the Church, 
so-called, by ascending the stairs to an upper room. A small 
company of some sixty souls were gathered here, and the Rev. 
Mr. Irving, a Scotch Presbyterian, we found ministered to 
this people. He took for his text the 32nd Psalm, and dwelt 
upon the difference between transgression, sin, iniquity and 
guile. Plis elucidation of the theme was clear and very sim- 
ple, but earnest and impressive. Communion followed the 
regular service, and we sat at the Lord's Table with our bro- 
thers and sisters of a foreign land and felt that we were breth- 
ren in Christ. 

Beautiful flowers we found in our room upon our return, 
the gift of the wife of the proprietor of the hotel. 

Late in the afternoon we visited the Duomo Cathedral, 
which is very old, some portions having been built in the 4th 
century. We were urged to go into the subterranean vaults, 
where was the congealed blood of St. Jenarius which, it is 
claimed, liquefies four times a year, but we declined. 

June 6th, we started about half-past nine, in a landau 
drawn by three horses, to visit Mt. Vesuvius. The ride of 
three hours was most charming. This was followed by a long, 
hard walk of thirty minutes. A troop of miserable fellows, 
with poor, distressed looking donkeys, pursued me when I left 
the carriage, urging and insisting upon my riding a donkey. 
I was utterly disgusted, for though I refused from the first, 
they insisted, and kept so near, that my ire was thoroughly 
roused. I could not get used to these miserable creatures and 
their importunities, for, like the beggars, they did not appeal 
to my sympathy at all ; they plied their trade in such a pro- 
fessional way. 



Leaves from My Diary. 2^ 

After rest and refreshment, we took the train for the 
climb of the mountain and were landed quite a little distance 
from the summit. Here we were obliged to hire a Govern- 
ment guide, paying him $2.50. The climb was something ter- 
rible, as the scoria is eight or ten miles deep, and the ascent 
very steep. Our guide stalked on before us, while I, panting 
and almost sinking down from exhaustion, feared I should 
have to give up the climb though in full view of the crater. 
At last I gave vent to my feelings audibly by wondering what 
we were paying this guide for, and then he offered me his 
strong arm and I reached the top. He drew me to the very 
edge of the crater, and I looked down into the fiery, seething 
mass. Terrible bellowing and thundering had been heard long 
before we reached the summit, and I did not wonder that the 
ancients had pictured Vulcan, with his forge, in the subter- 
ranean regions. We were fortunate in the day for our ascent, 
for the smoke was rising straight upwards, though as we turned 
away two or three puffs of the sulphurous odors nearly stifled 
and suffocated us. We descended quickly, met our carriage, 
and were driven to the hotel, reaching there about 6.30. After 
a rest and dinner, we spent an hour or two with Mr. and Mrs. 
Byington at their own house. 

June 6th, we packed our trunks, which we were to send 
on to London, deciding to use only "hold-alls" on the Conti- 
nent. At 9 A. M., we took the steamer for Capri, where we 
were to take dinner. A visit was made to the Blue Grotto by 
taking small row boats from the steamer, and by sitting in the 
bottom of these boats and ducking our heads, we cleared the 
entrance to find the water and the rocky ceiling of a dense, 
ethereal blue. Our enchantment was somewhat rudely dis- 
turbed by the cry of the boatman for backsheesh, so that his 
boy could plunge into the water, when we cared nothing for 



2^ Leaves from My Diary. 

this, but only to understand why this wonderful blue pervaded 
this seemingly rock-hewn grotto. Capri is most delightfully 
situated, and from the piazza of the hotel where we dined, we 
had a most charming view. In small boats we were again 
rowed to the steamer, and pursued our course towards Sorren- 
to. The steamer came to anchor after a short sail, and small 
boats, each bearing a pole, on which was the name of some 
hotel, drew near. We were rowed to the shore by two young 
men who represented the Hotel Cocumella. We had to climb 
a stone stairway, overarched and enclosed, from which, at in- 
tervals, there seemed to be galleries cut out of the solid stone, 
and though the climb was hard, we emerged at its top into one 
of the most delightful gardens it has ever been my fortune to 
see. The walk leading up to the hotel was through a vine- 
covered arbor, and on every side were roses and plants — and 
to me the most wonderful of all, as it was my first view of 
the same — an orange and lemon grove, the fruit hanging in 
rich luxuriance from the trees. My enthusiasm knew no 
bounds, and as the proprietor said : " to this portion of the 
garden," indicating by his hand a certain section, " my guests 
are all welcome to take and eat as they like," I took only time 
to lay aside my hat and wrap, when I wended my way hither 
and luxuriated in oranges from the trees to my heart's content. 
After this exuberance of feeling had subsided a little, I took 
time to learn that this hotel had formerly been an old monas- 
tery, and here was the old well and the iron crane of the past 
still in use. Lovely maiden-hair ferns flourished in the crev- 
ices of the stones, and as we drew in the old bucket the clear, 
limpid water from the well, and drank to our fill in the open 
court, where the well was located, I could but wonder where 
were those who, ages before, had had their thirst assuaged in 
this same fount. Our rooms were those occupied by Marion 



Leaves from My Diary. 25 

Crawford while writing " Sarasenica," and " The Two Bro- 
thers." From our window we looked out upon the villa of a 
Russian Princess, the garden teeming with tropical luxuriance, 
the yellow of the oranges and lemons gleaming through the 
dark, rich, velvety green of the leaves. We went into the 
roadway and peered into the entrance of this villa. The road- 
way was curved, a wall following its outlines, and overhang- 
ing it were pink and white ivy geraniums as far as the eye 
could reach. It seems as if I could never forget the perfect 
loveliness of this scene. Crawford's villa can be seen on the 
other side, and from a projecting roof, enclosed in vines, where 
there are tables where one can breakfast if they like, the view 
of the bay, of the garden, and of the adjoining villas is so en- 
rapturing that it appeared as if there could be few such spots 
upon the earth. In the early morning the birds were singing, 
the air was sweet with the odor of roses, and it was otherwise 
so still, that it seemed as if here there could be perfect peace, 
like the Paradise of God. I longed to spend a month here, 
but, as St. Paul said, "we would see Rome"; and so, as we 
must soon be on our way, we reluctantly left this Eldorado, 
and took carriage for a ride to the long-buried city of Pompeii. 
On our way we stopped at the entrance to Crawford's villa, 
and then drove on over a most wonderful road, skirting the 
bay, with its many curves, and with a massive wall its entire 
extent, and on the left, much of the distance, fine olive groves, 
with here the most picturesque settlements, artistic bridges, 
and mass of glowing color against the grays of the gently un- 
dulating hills. 

At 12 o'clock Pompeii was reached, and after luncheon, 
and with a guide, or rather I may say ttoo, threaded our way 
through the streets of this wonderful city. I said two guides, 
for the Government provides one, but we were duped to the 



26 Leaves from My Diary. 

amount of $1.50 for this unnecessary service, and then were 
asked to pay the other, as he only had the keys with which to 
unlock certain carefully-guarded treasures. However, as these 
are only incidentals in such a trip, we did not let the matter 
disturb us, but hoped to profit by the experience and become 
wiser in the future. The streets of Pompeii are narrow, 
paved with large, round stones, and every few feet are two 
higher than the others, used as stepping-stones or cross-walks. 
There are deep indentations, worn by the wheels of the ancient 
chariots and the cart-wheels of their vehicles. The walls of 
the houses are very thick, built of plaster, and are peculiar in 
construction. Most of the shops have some sign on or painted 
in the stone or plaster, which you could easily recognize as 
describing the nature of their business. In the Museum are 
the bodies of various persons exhumed, the positions and fea- 
tures showing the haste of their flight and their terror and 
suffering as the shower overtook and buried them. Cooking 
utensils, jewels and relics of every description are found here. 
After visiting this, our steps were directed to the Forum, 
where is the Hall of Justice. The prisoner in those days was 
kept in an underground room, and I think could there hear 
the proceedings of the court. The temples are numerous 
and we beheld many of the private houses. The Public Baths 
are quite well preserved, and one very large house, the walls 
of the different rooms being finely decorated. The open court 
is still filled with flowers and statuary, and everything points 
to the wealth of the owner — the tragic poet, whom Bulwer 
calls Glaucus. It takes hours to walk through this wonderful 
city, and they are still exhuming, carrying the dirt in baskets to 
the carts. Something new, or rather I should say very old, 
is constantly being brought to light ; — truly the wonders of the 
past are a revelation to us that " there is nothing new under 



Leaves frofn My Diary. 27 

the sun." I cannot leave Pompeii without speaking of the 
famous Amphitheatre, containing seats for 20,000 spectators. 
We returned to Naples, and the next morning visited the 
Aquarium in the park, said to be the best in the world. Such 
lovely aquatic specimens I surely never saw, and after saun- 
tering about took a seat where I could watch two Octopi that 
interested me greatly. There were sea ferns and flowers of 
the most delicate hues, and one could hardly tire of the pretty 
ferns and fancies. 

After luncheon, June 8th, we took our first ride on the 
Continental Railway, leaving Naples with large bouquets of 
flowers presented by the landlord's wife. While the cars are 
peculiar, and so unlike our own, we at first thought them quite 
comfortable, but later on found the seats too wide, and then 
when three men entered, and after staring at us, took out their 
cigars and cigarettes and commenced puffing their smoke in 
our faces, we thought if this was a first-class car, we did not 
see what the second and third class could be. We looked out, 
however, after this experience, to get into cars where "no 
smoking" was allowed, and the conductors usually aimed to 
leave, from this time on, the whole seating capacity of the car 
to the Americans. The lack of toilet accommodations is very 
noticeable, and as no stations are called out, the entire system 
seems very crude. A train, however, can be emptied in a 
much shorter space of time than by our method, but the bag- 
gage service, if you can call it a service, is an enigma to every 
one. Ours was only hand baggage, which we took in the cars 
with us, and so were saved the weighing, and the jumping out 
at each station to see that your baggage was not put oflF. It 
was a good five hours ride to Rome, and we did not reach 
there until 8.15 P. M. A terrible clanging of bells aroused 
me about 5 A. M., June 9th, but the birds were singing very 



28 Leaves from My Diary. 

sweetly, and the air was cool and pleasant. I could not real- 
ize that I was really in Rome, the eternal city, built upon the 
seven hills, and so was very anxious for my first glimpse by 
daylight. Letters, however, were our first thought, for here, 
at Cook's, we hoped to find our first letters from home. After 
perusing and reperusing these loving messages, we wended 
our way to St. Peter's. We did not enter the church upon 
this first day, but visited the Gallery of the Vatican. We 
simply wandered through, stopping only in the room where 
were the grand master-pieces of Raphael, " The Transfigura- 
tion," and Madonna de Toligno, and The Communion of St, 
Jerome, by Domenchino, and then went into the Sixtine 
Chapel where, on the end wall, is a large fresco of the Last 
Judgment, by Michael Angelo, and upon the ceiling the crea- 
tions of his genius representing the Preparation of the World 
for the Advent of Christ. One feels like treading softly in 
the presence of such works of art as these paintings portray, 
and there is an unmistakable reverence in the mien of all. 

At 4 P. M., my friend Miss Marvin and I took a drive of 
two hours, getting a glimpse of the Coliseum, Forum, Palace 
of the Caesars, Triumphal Arches of Titus, Constantine and 
Severus, visited two churches, and then went up on the Pin- 
cian Hill, from which you get one of the finest views of Rome. 
We stopped at the church of the Lateran, the one where the 
coronation of the Pope takes place. It was built in the 14th 
century, the fourth basilica erected on this spot. It is one 
mass of mosaic, marbles, gildings, bronzes, statuary and paint- 
ings, and must have cost millions. 

On the morning of June loth, we drove across the Bridge 
of St. Angelo, on our way to St. Peter's. This bridge is 
adorned with statues, and is a noble approach to the Castle of 
St. Angelo. This castle was built by Hadrian and completed 



Leaves from My Diary. 2g 

by Antonimus Pius A. D. 139. It was built for a mausoleum 
for Hadrian and his family. When the Goths besieged Rome 
it was converted into a fortress, and is now strongly garri- 
soned. In the prisons are the cells where Beatrice Cenci, Cag- 
liostro and others were confined. Napoleon III was a prisoner 
here for a short time. In the central chamber the niches for 
the burial urns are still to be seen. It is said that there is a 
secret passage from the Vatican to the Castle. But a short 
distance from here is St. Peter's, the basilica built upon the 
site of the Circus of Nero, where so many Christians suffered 
martyrdom. The present edifice was commenced in 1506, 
though two others had preceded it, one as early as A. D. 90. 
Here, it is claimed, St. Peter was buried after his crucifixion. 
The vast oval plane, paved with square blocks of lava, in the 
centre of which is the large Egyptian obelisk, with magnifi- 
cent fountains on either side, and the enormous colonades 
sweeping in semi-circles around the two sides of the piazza, 
is one of the most imposing sights one is often privileged to 
behold. As you pass through these colonades, one leading to 
the Vatican and the other to St. Peter's, you are amazed at 
the magnitude of the place, for there are four series of col- 
umns in each, 42 feet 6 inches in height, of the Doric order, 
with balustrades on which are statues 16 feet in height. As 
you reach the marble steps leading up to the church, colossal 
statues of St. Peter and St. Paul are at the foot, on either side. 
The vestibule is 235 feet long, 42 wide and 66 ft. high. The 
huge doors swung open and we were really in the church. 
At first you cannot take in the immensity. You know that it 
is 619 feet long, and on the floor there are stars at intervals 
showing you its length as compared with St, Paul's, The Duo- 
mo, Milan Cathedral, and others, but you cannot realize it. 
After several visits, however, the immense proportions become 



JO Leaves from My Diary. 

real to you. You walk along up the broad central nave until 
you come near the dome, and from there you have a view of 
the High Altar, where the Pope alone can officiate. Here are 
the twisted columns and covering, made from the bronze roof 
of the Pantheon. Just in front of this, and right before you, 
is a balustrade round a circular depression, with steps leading 
down to the Confession of St. Peter, as here is supposed to be 
the identical spot where he is buried. Eighty-nine lamps are 
suspended from this balustrade, and are kept burning night 
and day. Beyond, is what is called the Tribune, and is the 
chair of St. Peter. On the sides of the church are many 
chapels, forty-five, I believe, in number, and monuments, altars 
and pictures are met with in nooks and corners. On the right 
side is the bronze statue of St. Peter with the foot worn out 
of shape by the frequent kissing. Little children are lifted 
up by their mothers to kiss this statue — which antiquarians say 
is a statue of Jupiter — and if one remains in the church for 
an hour he will see old and young — men, women and children, 
first wipe the foot with their handkerchief, and then kiss it. 

We did not go down into the Confession, but did ascend 
to the roof of St. Peter's, and here found quite a village of 
small houses, occupied by custodians and workmen. Neither 
did we ascend to the Ball, where sixteen persons can be accom- 
modated. From the roof we had a fine view of the city, and 
realized, as we could not from below, the enormous sizes of 
the thirteen statues of Our Lord and his Apostles, which sur- 
mount the roof; they are 19 feet high. 

Few realize, until they enter, that St. Peter's is not yet 
completed, but when you see the crimson hangings in place of 
marble pillars to be, you are convinced of the fact, and these 
hangings detract not a little from the general effect. We heard 
mass celebrated several times here, and the music was fine, but 



Leaves from My Diary. Ji 

we heard no sermon or word of exhortation, and my impres- 
sion was not one of reverence, for the simplicity of that Last 
Supper instituted by Our Saviour kept coming into my mind, 
and I wondered whether all this pomp and ceremony was ac- 
ceptable to Him. One thing pleased me, and it was this : the 
poor and ragged walk in and wander around amidst all this 
magnificence and seem to feel that it is theirs. 

We drove in the afternoon to the Church St. Pietro, in 
Vincoli, where we saw Michael Angelo's famous statue of 
Moses, a very grand conception of the great law-giver. The 
Ghetto, where 6,000 Jews reside, was next visited. This set- 
tlement, though intersected by narrow streets, did not impress 
us as we expected from the stories read concerning it. Our 
drive ended with another visit to the Pincian Hill. This hill 
is approached through an avenue of trees, trimmed so as to 
form a dense shade, like an arbor, and the climb of a series of 
terraces reveals such beauty on either side as you advance, that 
you feel as if this beautiful summer-house upon its summit, 
and this delightful park, were a fit crowning to such a parapet 
of beauty. 

June nth, we heard, at 9.30 A. M., mass celebrated by 
the bishops and archbishops of St. Peter's, and then drove to 
the Scotch Presbyterian Church. The text was ist Peter ii : 21. 
This epistle was probably written from Rome during the time 
of Nero, 64—68 A. D. The idea was greatly emphasized that 
we must suffer, if we were true Christians, as we tread in the 
footsteps of Our .Saviour. Dr. Bainbridge, of New York, who 
knew mutual friends of ours, was at the hotel, where we spent 
the afternoon and evening quietly, in pleasant conversation. 

June 1 2th, we visited the Pantheon, built twenty-seven 
years before the Christian era, and still in a wonderful state of 
preservation. The bronze doors still remain as they were 



^2 Leaves front My Diary. 

twenty centuries since. The Corinthian columns are very 
beautiful ; the opening in the dome still furnishes light, and 
as the rain descends, it is carried off through holes in the mar- 
ble floor. The roof, so ruthlessly torn off to adorn St. Peter's, 
has been replaced. Raphael and Victor Emanuel are buried 
here. From here we went to the Church Santa-Maria sopra 
Minerva, built in 1370 on the ruins of a temple of Minerva. 
Here was a statue of Christ, by Michael Angelo, and a girdle 
of gilt had been placed around the body and a covering of gilt, 
also, over one of the feet, to protect it. 

The next visit was to the Church Gisu. It is a most 
beautiful church. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Order 
of the Jesuits, is buried here. A service was being held 
here, and an Italian priest was addressing a large congrega- 
tion, who listened intently to his words. He seemed to be an 
orator of no mean pretensions, and it was the first time we 
had seen the people really ministered to. 

About 4 P. M. we drove in a landau out upon the Appian 
Way, the historic road excavated and opened by Pius IX. It 
is now seemingly as firm as when first built, and one's feelings 
can hardly be expressed as they realize that they are wending 
their way along the same path trodden by the noble Apostle 
to the Gentiles, St. Paul, so many hundreds of years since. It 
is lined on either side by tombs, and when the long ascent is 
traversed, on the summit rises the tomb of Cecillia Metella. 
We turned off a little, stopping at the Baths of Caracalla, 
built to accommodate t6oo bathers at once. These baths were 
opened in 216 A. D. Some of the mosaic floors are now intact 
and the delicate patterns, with borders, are distinctly traceable. 
The luxuriousness of those old Romans is made manifest in 
these wonderful ruins. These ruins are a mile in circumfer- 
ence, and consist of many chambers, so that the manner of 



Leaves from My Diary. jj 

bathing must have been quite like the Turkish Bath. When 
we remember that in the time of Constantine there were 
twelve other similar establishments we can form some idea 
of the habits of this people. Shelley says that " Prometheus 
Unbound " was written upon the mountainous ruins of these 
baths. 

We next stopped at the tomb of the Scipios, and with 
lighted candles in our hands, threaded our way underground 
to the tombs of Scipio Africanus, Asiaticus and others of that 
distinguished family. 

Our next stopping place was at the church " Dominie Quo 
Vadis ", a small, quaint, plain structure, where we were shown 
the impress of Our Saviour's feet, it being claimed that here 
was the place where Peter, fleeing from the city at early 
dawn, met our Lord carrying his cross, and throwing himself 
at His feet, exclaimed, " Dominie, quo vadis," (Lord, whither 
goest thou?) the Master answering, " Venio Roman iturum 
crucifigi," (I am going to Rome to be crucified.) Stung 
with remorse, it is claimed Peter returned to the city and was 
crucified at his own request, with his head downwards. 

We alighted next at the Church of St. Sebastian, where 
we were met by a very interesting monk, who, in a pleasant 
manner, conducted us through the Catacombs, the entrance 
into them being from this church. He gave us each a little 
candle and then preceded us down the flights of stairs, and 
through the intricate and winding passages which traverse 
these abodes of the dead martyrs of the early Christian Church, 
The tombs were in niches in the walls, some large enough for 
families, some for single persons, and some tiny ones for the 
children. It was wierd enough, as the monk would throw the 
light of his candle upon some inscription or direct your atten- 
tion to some bottle containing the blood of the martyr walled 



j^ Leaves froin My Diary. 

in, and then ever and anon you would find a palm tree or other 
symbolic sign upon the walls. The kindly good nature of this 
monk was expressed in his evident interest in us and his de- 
light in explaining everything and answering all our ques- 
tions. On emerging from these subterranean passages, of 
which, it is said, there are in all 350 miles, being the ancient 
Christian cemeteries of Rome, we wandered through the 
church, and then drove through the gate, outside the walls of 
the city, to the basilica of St. Paul. It stands on the alleged 
spot where, after he was martyred, St. Paul's body was buried. 
It is a magnificent church, and the interior very, very beau- 
tiful. It is entirely different from St. Peter's, but to my mind, 
grand in its simplicity and richness. The nave is 306 ft. long 
and 222 wide, with four ranges of granite Corinthian columns, 
eighty in all, forty on each side ; medallions of all the Popes, 
in mosaic, surround the ceiling, with places for those to come, 
and the floor is of beautiful marble. The altar is of malachite, 
and the canopy is supported by columns of Egyptian alabas- 
ter, and these stand on pedestals inlaid with lapis-laxuli and 
malachite. The windows are of stained glass, each represent- 
ing an Apostle or Father of the church. We went into and 
through the garden of the monastery, and to the house, where 
tradition says, Paul dwelt with his servant, the soldier who 
kept guard. 

When we looked upon these massive and magnificent 
churches — St. Peter's and St. Paul's — reared to commemorate 
the memory of those servants of God, despised by the ancient 
and haughty rulers of Rome, we could but ask the question : 
What is there to commemorate the wicked reigns of those 
cruel kings but the contempt and scorn of the world? 

Our next day, June 13th, was spent in a visit to the Capi- 
tol and the Capitoline Museum. A winding road leads up the 



Leaves from My Diary. j§ 

Capitoline Hill on one side and a flight of 125 steps on the 
other, to the Church of the Ave CceH. The Museum is on the 
right, and here we saw fine paintings by Titian and Michael 
Angelo and others. The famous statue of the " Dying Gladi- 
ator," "The Venus of the Capitol," "The Boy Extracting a 
Thorn from his Foot," the bronze " Wolf and the Fawn," on 
which Hawthorne founded his story of " Transformation," 
as well as wonderful tapestries, and a Roman chariot and 
littern. 

June r4th, after a visit to the stores, we took carriage and 
were driven to the Sculpture Gallery of the Vatican. Before 
entering, and from the windows of the Gallery, we had a nice 
view of the Vatican grounds and gardens. These are very 
extensive, and here is where the Pope takes his exercise. We 
spent the whole morning wandering along the halls and corri- 
dors of this wonderful gallery, rich with its treasures of art. 
Among the master-pieces, we saw " The Torso," a mutilated 
body of Hercules, the famous " Group of Laocoon," the " Mer- 
cury of the Belvidere," " Perseus with the head of the Gor- 
gon," and a Boxer on his right and left, "Apollo Belvidere," 
and " Mileager, the Slayer of the Caledonian Boar." 

One gallery is filled with animals, and these are very in- 
teresting. There was, elsewhere, also, rich mosaics and won- 
derful tapestries. We then wandered through the Library, 
with its 34,000 MSS. and 50,000 printed books. We were 
then shown the hall containing the magnificent gifts from 
every country in the world, presented to the Pope at the time 
of his Jubilee. 

The afternoon was spent in driving upon the Aventine 
and Pincian Hills, stopping at the Spada Palace, where is the 
statue of Pompey, at whose base Csesar was murdered by 
Brutus. We stopped also at St. Sabina, built in the 5th cen- 



jd Leaves from My Diary. 

tury. Five martyrs are buried here, and the block upon which 
they suffered is in the center of the church. The doors are of 
cypress wood and have carved upon them the story of the New 
Testament, In the yard of the church is an orange tree, the 
first ever planted in Italy. It was brought from Spain and is 
still in bearing condition. The monk in attendance presented 
us with pinks from the garden and pictures of the tree. In 
the evening, with others from the hotel, we attended the opera 
of Fedora and Cavaleria Rusticana. The stage setting was 
good, the artists fine and the whole very enjoyable. During 
the intermission men smoked and their ideas of politeness and 
decorum seemed very crude, 

June 15th, we visited, for the second time, the Sixtine 
Chapel and Gallery of the Vatican, One could spend days and 
even months among these treasures of art and yet ever find 
them new and rare. There is no finer memorial chapel of a 
great artist in the world than is this Sixtine Chapel of Mich- 
ael Angelo, It is said that Michael Angelo, at the age of sixty, 
would make more chips of marble fly in a quarter of an hour, 
than would three of the strongest sculptors in an hour. After 
luncheon we drove to the Qiiirinal Palace. We were shown 
through ten or eleven rooms and while they were interesting 
in a way, the stiffness of the arrangement of the furniture gives 
one the idea of abodes of state, and in no sense a place of fam- 
ily life. 

The Capuchin Church and Monastery was our next stop- 
ping place, and while the church itself was in no sense remark- 
able, when we descended to the place where the monks are 
buried, for a certain time, then exhumed and their bones scrap- 
ed, and saw the attempt at an artistic arrangement of these 
bones, we thought we never had seen anything more gruesome 
and sepulchral. An embalmed body of a monk would form 



Leaves front My Diary. jy 

the center of a chamber, then around them were placed the 
small bones of the arms and limbs in layers, corner pieces of 
skulls, and so we passed through many chambers, each contain- 
ing an altar, and here these monks perform their devotions, 
surrounded by these evidences of the transitory state of the hu- 
man race. Glad enough were we to emerge from this place 
and never do we wish to witness its like again. 

We then drove to the Coliseum, that stupendous ruin, and 
walked all around and through its many passages and cham- 
bers, where in all probability the wild beasts were kept. When 
I looked at these massive ruins, the walls of which were built 
to last forever, and saw where the lovely marbles had been ruth- 
lessly torn from their places, I could not but feel indignant at 
the vandalism that had desecrated this wonderful structure. 

The Church of St. John the Lateran next claimed our at- 
tention, and then, after walking through this ancient structure, 
we went to the building, where are the Scala Sancta, or Holy 
Stairs, said to have been brought from Jerusalem by Helen, the 
daughter of Constantine. They are claimed to be the same 
stairs which our Lord ascended, when He went to the Judg- 
ment Hall in the house of Pilate. No one can ascend these 
stairs, save on their knees, and we saw both old and young, 
even children, praying on each stair as they climbed on their 
knees. 

Luther is said to have been but part way up when these 
words : "The just shall live by faith", came to his mind, and 
he stood upright, and with the step of a free man, descended 
the stairs, and thus commenced the Reformation. 

The Barberini Palace was visited on June i6th, and here 
we saw the picture of Beatrici Cenci. An Agricultural Ex- 
position was being held in the Borghese Gardens, and to this 
we went. After wandering through the building, where were 



j8 Leaves fro7n My Diary. 

on exhibition the work of the Kintergartners, modeling in 
clay, and specimens of various kinds of industrial work, 
machines of every description, we went forward to listen to 
the music which a fine band was discoursing. Noticing after 
a little quite a flutter of excitement, we turned to have burst 
upon our vision, a landau, with a fine pair of horses driven by 
a coachman with out-riders behind, all three dressed in bright 
scarlet coats, blue velvet knee breeches, white stockings 
and low shoes, high hats and a cockade. The Queen was seat- 
ed within, attended by a maid of honor and a gentleman. She 
had a fine and pleasing presence, great dignity and graceful 
carriage. She is greatly beloved by all her people. It was 
novel for us to see fine gentlemen in waiting approach the 
carriage, bow and kiss her hand, and then present to her bou- 
quets of flowers, all of which favors she received very charm- 
ingly. 

The next day we visited some photograph shops and pur- 
chased a few pictures. In the afternoon we, with a guide, 
Madame Linde, went to the ruins of the Palaces of the Caesars. 
It is a stupendous pile — full of historic interest. We could 
hardly realize that we were threading our way through the 
Palaces of Augustus, Caligula and Domitian, and that we 
were treading what had once been their banqueting halls, 
pieces of the mosaic floors still remaining in place and fine 
bits of marble covering their sides, reminding of the wonder- 
ful magnificence of these structures. The walls gave evidence 
from their form of construction, of the dates of their building^ 
some even dating B. C. and some 300 A. D.. We went up 
and down the very stairs these kings and their vassals had 
climbed in the long ago past. There are paintings on some 
of the walls representing Isis, another a Roman Maiden's 
Birthday, with the friends bringing gifts. Caligula, to carry 



Leaves from My Diary. jp 

out one of his plans, built right on the top of a vineyard and 
also inclosed a regular roadway or thoroughfare, by arching it 
over. This roadway we could see through some openings, and 
could look down many feet, into the once vineyards below. 
We saw the Stadium, where the Olympian Games were play- 
ed and so many other interesting things that it is impossible to 
enumerate them. From the banqueting room, where so many 
gorged themselves at the feasts, there was a room set apart for 
them to disgorge in. From this Palatine Hill is a most charm- 
ing view of the Circus Maximus, mostly built upon now; the 
Appian Way, stretching far away over the Sabian and Albian 
Hills, 253 miles, to Bristini, portions of the walls of Rome, por- 
tions also of the old gate and the seven hills of Rome. We 
saw upon the hills, the place from which, in all probability, the 
Shepherds emerged when they found Romulus and Remus, 
who it is claimed were washed up by the Tiber which over- 
flowed its banks, causing the marshy places so often alluded to. 
From the beautiful garden on the Palatine Hill we looked down 
upon the ruins of the Roman Forum and saw the temples of 
the Vestal Virgins, the Temple of Jupiter also, and the place 
where Cataline, Cicero and others stood when they delivered 
their famous orations. We passed, in our drive, under the fa- 
mous Arch of Titus, and also the Arch of Constantine. Three 
Corinthian columns mark the remains of the temple of Castor 
and Pollux, and, in fact, the broken columns and mass of ruins 
unearthed enable one, if they could spend the time and were 
familiar enough with the facts, to trace, with almost absolute 
certainty, the various scenes in the great drama of Roman 
history. 

With pieces of marble picked up on the site of the Palaces 
of the Caesars, I went with Mrs. Linde to the sculptor who 
was to arrange and send them to America. In the evening I 



^o Leaves from My Diary. 

was taken by the guide into a Catholic Church, most brilliantly 
lighted, in honor of some Saint's day. 

June i8th, we started for church, but were overtaken by 
a thunder shower. We tarried under cover a little, but when 
we arrived at the church found that the service was over, as it 
had commenced a half hour earlier than usual. At St. Peter's, 
in the afternoon, we heard fine singing, and saw two children 
baptized. The service was lengthy, and as it was all new to 
us, interested us greatly. 



pisa a^^ Its XcantnQ ^owcr. 



June 19th, we bade adieu to Rome, and took the train at 
8 A. M. for Pisa, and arrived at the station about 2 P. M. We 
took a carriage and drove out about a mile to the wonderful 
Leaning Tower, the Church, Baptistry and Protestant Ceme- 
tery, all of which are grouped together. From the pictures I 
had seen, I did not get a true idea of the lean — 13 feet — which 
was manifest on a near approach to the Tower. It is truly 
one of the seven wonders of the world, and in its detail of 
columns, with delicately traced capitals all around each story, 
and the seven bells in its dome, it is beautiful and most inter- 
esting to behold. The Cathedral, finished in the 12th century, 
is in the form of a Latin cross. The bronze doors are very 
massive, and a portion of tlie mosaic floor was taken from the 
Temple of Hadrian. The pillars of the altar are of porphyry. 
The marble columns are cut from one solid block, with Corin- 
thian capitals, and of the many pillars, two came from the 
Temple of Hadrian. In a glass case near the altar are dia- 
monds, jewels and silver hearts, given by people who think 
they were cured of diseases by miracles. The Baptistry is 
very interesting, the carvings being especially fine. Until the 
i6th century all baptisms were by immersion, and now, for 
the laying on of hands, they have hot as well as cold water. 
The Protestant Cemetery is built around a square, with sarco- 
phagi and relics under its porticos and paintings on the walls. 
Earth from Mount Calvary was brought here, and the inter- 
ments are under the pavements of the porticos. From Pisa 
we took the train for Florence, arriving about 7 P. M. 



Iflorence an^ ite art treasures. 



June 20th, just one month since we set sail from our own 
dear land, and here we are in this lovely city of Florence. We 
took a guide and drove through new and old Florence, he 
pointing out to us the places where Mrs. Browning and Mi- 
chael Angelo lived, the Pitti Palace, old Town Hall and vari- 
ous points of interest. I was intensely interested in the tower 
of this Town Hall, a window in which designates the room 
where Savonarola was imprisoned eight days before he was 
burned. A fountain near by marks the spot where he gave 
up his life. We visited the Cemetery, and went to the graves 
of Mrs. Browning and Theodore Parker. 

We visited a large Church, but in the afternoon wandered 
into the Cathedral II Duomo ; it is of immense proportions, and 
was built in the 13th century. It is in the Italian-Gothic 
style, and its dome rises to the height of 400 feet, being the 
largest dome in the world. Near the Cathedral stands the 
Baptistry of St. John, which we entered, and there saw two 
Florentine babes baptized. The Campanile of Giotto is near 
by. The two bronze gates of the Baptistry illustrate all the 
principal events of the Old Testament, and Michael Angelo 
declared tliat " these gates were worthy to be the gates of 
Paradise." 

We saw also, in our drive, the old gate of the city and 
the secret passages leading from the Town Hall or Castle to 
the UfRzi Galleries and Pitti Palace. We passed the house of 
the American consul's wife, and many very beautiful residen- 
ces. All along the route the perfume from some flowering 
trees was very sweet and refreshing. With a visit to a marble 



Leaves from My Diary. ^j 

yard, where we saw the sculptors at work, ended our first day 
in Florence. 

June 3 1st found us at the Uffizi Gallery, although the as- 
pect of the weather was threatening. Here we found a very 
choice collection of paintings, statues, mosaics, jewels and an- 
cient inscriptions. Among the master-pieces were Venus de 
Medici, found in the i6th century in Hadrian's Villa near 
Tivoli ; Titian's Venus ; Raphael's St. John in the Wilderness ; 
Michael Angelo's Holy Family ; Albert Durer's Adoration of 
the Magi ; Paul Veronece's Holy Family ; Reubens' Wife ; a 
Portrait by Titian ; Coreggio's Flight Into Egypt and Rem- 
brandt's Holy Family. A corridor extends across the Arno 
from this to the Pitti Palace. It rained hard in the afternoon, 
but we drove out to the stores, making a few purchases. The 
evening was spent pleasantly with Mr. and Mrs. Trott, Miss 
Monson and others, who were our fellow-passengers on the 
steamer. 

June 33d, we drove in the rain to the Pitti Palace, and 
visited the gallery of paintings. There are here many gems 
of Titian's, notably La Bella ; the Three Fates, by Michael 
Angelo ; Baptism of Jesus, by Paul Verona (pouring the 
water); Raphael's Madame Delia Seggiola ; Reubens' Holy 
Family ; Murillo's Maria Vergina Barberosa ; his Madonna 
Del Rosario ; Raphael's Pope Julius II ; Carl Dolci's Ecce 
Homo ; Tintoretti's Resurrection of Christ, the dismay of the 
guards represented in dark rich coloring while Christ was in 
the light. Tables of malachite and also vases of lapis lazuli 
were in the rooms ; ten or fifteen rooms of the palace were 
then visited before we went back to lunch. At 4 p. m. we 
started, with a clear sky, to drive to San Miniato, about a mile 
or two outside of the old Roman city gate ; this drive lingers 
in my memory as one of the most delightful of several nota- 



^/f. Leaves from My Diary. 

ble ones it was my pleasure to take. The road was broad, hard 
and smooth as a pavement, lined on either side with tall trees. 
Between the sidewalk and the fences was a space of three 
feet, filled in with beautiful evergreens, like our laurel with its 
shiny green, and the lovely English ivy. Beautiful villas, 
many of them the residences of Americans, with the typical 
eagle surmounting the gateway, graced the road on either side, 
and as we traveled this road, with its graded ascent, the driver 
often stopped to let us take in the scene with all its loveliness 
and charm. When we reached the summit of the hill, the 
panorama spread out before us was beyond anything we could 
ever have imagined or conceived of. Looking back, the city 
lay in the valley, surrounded by hills, and these were inhabit- 
ed to their very tops. The Arno divides the city in its flow, 
and the red-tiled roofs of the houses, the towers and belfries, 
the dormer windows, the balconies, with the olive and orange 
groves illumined by the rays of tlie setting sun, completed a 
picture which few artists couKl do justice to, and which the 
privilege of witnessing is given to mortals but seldom in a 
lifetime. 

We aliglited from the carriage and entered a most singu- 
lar burial-place in connection with an old church. The slabs 
were flat upon the ground, covered with the most peculiar 
floral emblems, the same as are seen everywhere upon the 
Continent. On being admitted to the Church we found the 
same features inside, there being headstones with railings 
around the enclosures, and it gave a very peculiar aspect to 
the interior. On our return we stopped in the Piazza of Mi- 
chael Angelo, from which we had another charming view, and 
saw a statue of his "David," witli "Day" and "Night" in the 
corners. 

One cannot visit Florence without being- charmed with 



Leaves from My Diary. ^5 

its bridges, four of stone, spanning the Arno— the Ponte Vec- 
chio the most interesting, in its being lined on both sides with 
shops, and having the corridor that unites the two Palaces. 

June 23rd, we went out to the Church of San Marco, and 
visited the Monastery of the Dominican Order. We went 
into the dining-room and also into the cells of the monks. In 
every cell were pictures of Fra Angelico, In vSavonarola's 
room was his chair, in which we sat. 

The Church of San Lorenz was next visited, and in the 
chapel of the De Medici's were " Day " and " Night," " Morn- 
ing" and " Evening," by Michael Angelo. In a gallery we 
visited were some famous bas reliefs and other objects of in- 
terest. Fiesole was the next place of interest visited. It is 
a drive of about three miles from the city, and was really the 
parent city of Florence. Fiesole was an Etruscan city, and 
a small trading village belonging to it stood beside the Arno, 
where Florence now stands. Here, on arrival, we were be- 
sieged by people who tried to sell us fans, baskets, etc. From 
the Church of Allesandro we had another fine view of the 
city, but as it was raining our stay here was cut short. Miss 
Marvin entered a Convent, hoping to be able to see the in- 
terior, but was kindly escorted to the door, while the men of 
the party were admitted without any show of unwillingness 
on the part of the monks. June 34th, at 6.10 A. M., we took 
the train for Venice. 



IDenice, its (Brant) Canal, (Bonbolas, etc. 



We reached Venice about 3 P. M. The ride hither, across 
the Appenines, was grand, and we passed through miles of 
tunnels, scarcely emerging from one before we entered another. 
On reaching the city, we seemed to cross the water on a dyke 
for a long distance. At last the cars came to a stop, and a 
short walk brought us to the land, whence, in a gondola, we 
were rowed for half a mile to our hotel. From the Grand 
Canal our gondolier turned into the narrow streets, thus by a 
short cut covering the otherwise long distance. 

One's first experience in a gondola will never be forgot- 
ten, for it is such a lazy, dreamy means of transportation. 
The cry of the gondolier, before a corner is turned, is very 
musical, and everything is so strange and yet so picturesque, 
that you feel as if you were in a sort of dream-land. From 
the gondola we ascended three steps, which led into the hotel, 
and here secured rooms fronting on the Grand Canal. The 
picture before us was ever ciianging and varied. The sails 
were of red and yellow, and these seemed to harmonize with 
everything about us. Boats of every description were loading 
and unloading, large steamers were sailing majestically by, 
while gondolas were flitting here, there and everywhere. 
This, in connection with tlie crowds of people passing and 
re-passing in front of our windows, made the scene a very 
fascinating one. 

June 35th was Sunday, and stormy in the morning, clear- 
ing at mid-day, but raining again later. As I had a severe 
cold, I thought it the part of prudence to remain within doors. 
The others attended church. The following morning was so 



Leaves frojn My Diary. </7 

bright that I could not resist the temptation to take a stroll to 
St. Mark's Place and vicinity. I was allured into a gondola, 
and took a trip through the Grand Canal. The seats in the 
middle of a gondola are very easy, and with the canopy over 
one to shield from the sun, one feels as if they could move on 
thus forever. After luncheon and a rest, we hired a gondola 
for the afternoon and paid a visit to Murano, an island inhab- 
ited in the early days. Here are the famous glass factories, 
and entering one, we saw them blow the lovely colored vases. 
The island, which serves as a cemetery and seems to be raised 
higher than the others we made our way to, but as the gates 
were closed we could not enter. The others of the party took 
a gondola for the evening, but as I dared not take the risk, sat 
in my window, and from this point saw an illumination of 
fireworks on a more magnificent scale than I had ever wit- 
nessed before. 

June 27th, with a guide, we entered the Church of St. 
Mark. It is a most wonderful and impressive church, and 
far surpassed the conceptions I had formed of it. The floor is 
settling in some places, but the interior is a mass of golden 
mosaics, marbles, tapestries and paintings. In the vestibule 
are two pillars, brought from Solomon's Temple, and on every 
hand are the spoils of Greece and Byzantium, of Palestine, 
Asia Minor and Syria, in the form of alabaster, jasper, por- 
phyry, malachite and verd antique. While the church was in 
course of construction every galley trading in the East was 
required to bring back some spoil to enrich the work, and it is 
really the history of Venice in marble. The Sacristy is a mass 
of golden mosaics, and in one large room are all the vestments 
used in the church. The exterior of St. Mark's is none the 
less imposing, with its gates of bronze, its domes, spires, sta- 
tues, arches and columns. Over the portal are the five famous 



^8 Leaves from My Diary. 

bronze horses, each weighing two tons — those famous travel- 
ers — they were on the triumphal arch of Nero, and then on 
that of Trajan. They have been to Constantinople and back 
to Venice. For eighteen years they crowned the triumphal 
arch in the Place du Carrousel in Paris, but in 1815 were 
brought back to Venice. 

St. Mark's Place is really the heart of Venice. It is a 
broad, open space, 576 feet long and 185 to 269 feet wide, 
paved with marble and stone, surrounded by a colonade and 
most magnificent buildings. Here is the Campanile or Bell 
Tower, the Church of St. Mark, the Palace of the Procura- 
tors, and at the end two magnificent columns of Oriental 
granite, one surmounted with the statue of St. Theodore and 
the other with the Winged Lion of St. Mark. People gather 
here daily to see the feeding of the doves ; they seem almost 
numberless, and are quite tame. In the famous Campanile 
are kept a day and night watchman, whose duty it is to strike 
the hours on the huge bells in echo to those struck by the 
sledge-hammers of two effigies of Moors on the platform of 
the church tower. We watched with great interest the work 
of these effigies. 

We went into a Lace Factory, or rooms, where 60 or 70 
girls were making, by hand, most beautiful laces. The light 
here was very poor, and as they bent over their work, we 
could but feel that their vision would be so impaired in a short 
time that they would be incapacitated for work of any, kind. 
The contrast between the well-lighted show-rooms was very 
marked and painfully suggestive. A trip to the Lido, a bath- 
ing place upon the shores of the Adriatic, was next in order, 
and we took a steamer and then a tram, and were soon luxuri- 
ating upon one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever 
seen. The air was balmy and invigorating, and the water so 



Leaves from My Diary. ^.g 

clear that you could see its sandy bottom, and it was with dif- 
ficulty that I could tear myself away from this charming spot. 
Another gondola ride on the Grand Canal rounded out a very 
pleasant day's experience. 

June 28th, we wended our way to the Ducal Palace, which 
Ruskin says " is a piece of rich and fantastic colors ; as lovely 
a dream as ever filled the imagination." The pictures, mosa- 
ics and statues were of great interest. The Council Room 
was visited. Doge's bedroom, etc. We could hardly make it 
seem real that we were treading the same halls where had 
been enacted some of the most cruel tragedies the world has 
ever known. We crossed the famous Bridge of Sighs and en- 
tered the prison where so many noble men had been incarcer- 
ated, for no offences known to themselves, and met their fate 
in the passage-way where was still the fatal guillotine with 
the ducts or sluices for carrying away the blood. It made one 
shudder to enter the cells once occupied by heroic men, with 
no article of furniture save a rude iron couch or frame. 

We visited the Exposition in the garden laid out by Na- 
poleon, where was a famous hall filled with paintings, the 
avenues of the garden bordered by lovely tropical trees, flow- 
ers of every hue mingling their delicate colors with the glossy 
leaves of the palms, and here was a band discoursing the 
sweetest music, and we sat among all this beauty and sound 
and wondered whether we were really in or out of the body. 
Nightfall warned us that we must linger no longer, and so we 
tore ourselves away, but we remember it as a dream of love- 
liness and beauty. 

With a trip down the Grand Canal, a walk across the 
Rialto bridge, our stay in Venice closed, and on June 29th, 
about 8.15 A. M., we left the hotel in a gondola for the depot, 
taking the train for Milan. 



flDilan, an^ tte Great Catbe^raL 



A five hours ride brought us to this lovely city, where is 
the wonderful Cathedral we desired so much to look upon. 
After resting at the Grand Hotel de Milan, we went out in 
the rain, through the Arcade, to the Cathedral. Service was 
being held there, and as we entered, the reverberations of the 
organ, echoing as they did through the aisles and naves of 
this colossal structure, made an impression upon us time will 
find it hard to efface. Then came the sweet strains of a boy 
soprano, and then the organ pealed out the long a-men. Trans- 
fixed as I was by the music, it was not until the organ had 
ceased to sound that I looked about to take in the arrange- 
ment of this wonderful church. There are five aisles, divided 
by immense pillars, and the interior differed from any I had 
heretofore seen. I could not take my eyes from the stained 
glass windows, composed as they were of small panes of glass 
beautifully descriptive. The outside is no less beautiful than 
the inside, and I longed to visit it again, but the weather was 
very unpropitious and kept us from taking the ride about the 
city we had planned. Some think that there is nothing in 
Milan of interest to tourists save the Cathedral, but had we 
the time, I am sure we should have found very much to inter- 
est us. At 9.30 the next morning, we took the train and then 
the boat for Lake Como. The rain came down in such tor- 
rents that we could not sit outside, and as the scenery on this 
lake is entrancing, and not wishing to lose it, we stopped at 
Bellagio for the night. From my window I could see high 
peaks, rich with verdure, the clouds lying low upon them, 
then the cultivated places, with light-colored buildings, dot- 



Leaves from My Diary. 5/ 

ting and skirting the portions near their base. Then came the 
clear and lucid lake, and right in the immediate foreground, 
the beautiful park or garden connected with the hotel. In 
this was the most beautiful foliage, the gravel paths being 
bordered on either side with lovely roses, white and yellow 
marguerites, and in their native and pristine beauty, trees of 
pink and red oleanders. 

The morning of July ist, being fine, we left the hotel at 
10.30 and took the boat. The scenery was one of surpassing 
loveliness, and almost indescribable. We then took a train 
and rode for many miles right in the heart of the mountains, 
with cultivated sections, and an occasional glimpse of the 
snow-covered Alps. From the train we took the boat on Lake 
Lugano, and were landed about 2 P. M. at Lugano, a beauti- 
ful spot, and a great resort in winter for invalids. The moun- 
tain sides are inhabited, and the lake winds in and out among 
them, and here were orange trees laden with fruit, and a lovely 
garden with trees, vines and flowers. 

July 3d, we left Lugano for Palanca on Lake Maggiore, 
We went by boat a distance and then by train to Luino. We 
lunched out of doors, under an arbor, and then by boat reached 
Palanca about 1.45 P.M. We spent the whole afternoon on 
the piazza of the hotel, the view and surroundings being so 
charming that we had no desire to see anything else. The 
garden of the hotel was filled with the choicest varieties in 
the form of palms and evergreens I had ever seen, and the 
walks led right down to the edge of the lake, where was a 
boat-house and boats moored for use. On the opposite side 
of the lake were mountains, with settlements on their sides 
and at their base, and the whole was a picture of beauty and 
great loveliness. 

As this glimpse of these Italian lakes was to be our last 



^2 Leaves from My Diary. 

of sunny Italy, we lingered until late in the evening before 
we felt willing to bid adieu to its shores. 

It is no wonder to me that artists flock here in large num- 
bers, for surely Naples, romantic Sorrento, belching Vesuvius, 
ancient Pompeii, historic Rome, bewildering Venice, beauti- 
ful Milan, and these entrancing Lakes, must be to them like 
the Garden of the Gods. 



Swttscrlant). 



July 4th, we left Palanca about 9.30 A. M. on a stage, for 
a long day's journey. The morning was clear and bright, the 
scenery ever varied, and the whole prospect charming. After 
an hour-and-a-half's ride, we took the train for Domodessa, 
where, after lunching, we started in a diligence about 12 M. 
for a ride over the Simplon Pass. This magnificent road was 
built by Napoleon in 1800, thirty thousand men being em- 
ployed for six years in its construction. The ascent is an inch 
to a foot. The diligence was drawn by five horses, and as we 
slowly ascended, from 13 to 7 P. M., the scenery was grand 
beyond description. Ever before us rose the snow-capped 
mountains, and we drew nearer and nearer to them, until, as 
the light of day waned, the snow lay along the roadside. 
The scenery was ever and anon varied by glimpses of the 
Swiss chalets on the mountain side, and these very charming 
and picturesque residences interested us greatly. The lonely 
lives lived here among all this mountain vastness, it seemed 
to me, would be almost unendurable, but I could not conceive 
of any one being other than good, living among these eternal 
hills, always suggesting the majesty and glory of God. 

Our descent lasted from 7 to 10 P. M., when we reached 
Brieg, where we were to spend the night My friend and I 
sat in the coupe of the diligence (a portal in front encased in 
glass), and from there could see those five horses on a dead 
run, turning sharp corners bordered by precipices hundreds of 
feet below, and I realized that should we get too near the 
edge, or should the brakes fail to work, we would be quickly 
launched into eternity. Nothing serious occurred, however, 



5^ Leaves from My Diary. 

and at this late hour in the evening our horses came to a stop 
in this small place in the mountains. 

It was wierd, indeed, to descend from our high perch, 
with the aid of lanterns, and to wend our way through the 
curious groups of men, and narrow streets, to the hotel, a few 
yards away. 

The air was very crisp and cool on this, our Independence 
Day, and we were well wrapped with blankets for the even- 
ing ride. The fire in the hotel was very welcome, and the 
heavy silk comforters provided for our beds very acceptable. 
In the morning we took a little stroll to satisfy our curiosity 
with regard to this small settlement right in the heart of the 
mountains, but we had another Pass to climb, and so must 
take the train for Martigny in good season. There seemed to 
be a few rude shops, and the center of the place was like a 
bowl cut out of the mountain fastness, and we felt as if they 
had been let down from the heights, into this little niche, for 
rest and refuge. 

Our train reached Martigny about noon, and from there 
we started in a carriage, drawn by two horses, to cross the 
Tete Noire Pass. The ascent was so much steeper than the 
other, and the road so poor in comparison with the Simplon, 
that it took us over three hours to climb to the top, where we 
found poor accommodations, and were given a very inferior 
lunch, at a fancy price. Many parties were walking over this 
pass, and among these many women. With their alpen-stocks 
they seemed to be very independent, but when, at a late hour 
in the evening, we passed some of these women on the road, 
I thought they were carrying their independence to its full 
proprietary limit. Through inadvertent circumstances we 
could not commence our descent until 6 P. M., and then did 
not reach Chamounix until lo at night — cold and hungry. 



Leaves from My Diary. 55 

The wildness and grandeur of the scenery on this descent I 
cannot leave unrecorded, for there were gorges of great vast- 
ness, the verdure in their midst seeming to be of almost trop- 
ical luxuriance ; trees rose to great height, vines were cling- 
ing to rocks and crags ; and then the Alpine flowers, with 
their bright, intense colorings, intersected and dotted the 
mountain sides, and the whole was like an oasis of beauty 
among the stretch of mountains. Our driver was a very care- 
ful one, and so we could take in and absorb this loveliness to 
our heart's content. Fortunately, on our arrival at the hotel, 
we found our host ready to satisfy our fleshly cravings, and 
we retired for the night both warmed and well fed. 

Glorious Mt, Blanc loomed up before us in all its grand- 
eur as we went out onto the piazza of the hotel the next 
morning, and two glaciers were right in sight. It was as cool 
here July 6, 1S99, as at home in October. After my experi- 
ence at Vesuvius, I concluded not to attempt climbing any 
more mountains, and so contented myself with a nice long 
walk, where I could have a better view of the glacier. We 
found many English clergymen and their families at this hotel, 
and spent much time very pleasantly in the parlor with them. 
A mist had hung over Mt. Blanc through the day, but as we 
came out from dinner the sun was shining upon its top, and it 
was one of the grandest and most beautiful sights it has ever 
been my privilege to behold. A large company of guests 
were held spell-bound by its beauty, and none cared to gaze 
on aught else, until the setting sun gave warning that its rays 
were being withdrawn, and its smiles giving way to the damp- 
ness and chill of night. 

Miss Marvin's attempted ride to the Mere de Glace' was 
interrupted by a shower of rain on the afternoon of July 7, 
and so, as in the morning, we had made a tour of the shops 



^6 Leaves from My Diary. 

and visited an old church and cemetery, we proceeded to pack 
our belongings so as to be ready for an early start in the morn- 
ing. The tinkle of the cow-bells is a peculiar feature of Cha- 
mounix, and this was the first sound that awakened me the 
morning after our arrival ; and bells of every size and metal 
seemingly are on sale for tourists' collections. 

July 8th — Geneva was our objective point for the day, 
and so at 7 A. M. we took seats in a diligence for Fayal, where 
we were to meet the train. The air was crisp, the day clear, 
and the early morning ride lovely and invigorating. The 
scenery was entrancing and bewitching, and little glimpses of 
the same seem to be pictured before my eyes as I write. First 
we passed through a gorge, with the river impetuously dash- 
ing along, while the trees rose like sentinels on either side, 
reaching upward towards the sky. From this we emerged 
into an amphitheatre surrounded by mountains, some of which 
were covered with snow ; then the river spread out and the 
village appeared, laid out upon the mountain side and in the 
valley. Ever and anon there would flow down the mountain 
side a little stream, gathering unto itself rivulets and rills in 
its flow, till, with great power and volume, it would leap from 
some projecting cliff in the form of a most glorious waterfall. 
Our adjectives for expression gave out on this ride, and we 
felt we could only sit mute, rapt in wonder and admiration ; 
filled with praise to our Heavenly Father, who had created 
such dreams of beauty, and permitted us poor mortals to be- 
hold them. Geneva was reached by train about i P.M. Our 
rooms overlooked this beautiful lake, and the hotel fronted on 
a wide boulevard, lined on one side with fine buildings, while 
the lake front, on the otlier side, was bordered by walks, wind- 
ing through grassy plots, planted with trees, dotted with 
mounds of flowers, the wliole, as far as the eye could reach. 



Leaves from My Diary. 57 

looking like a lovely park. A very artistic bridge crosses the 
lake but a little viray off, and steamers were plying up and 
down, and boats of every description. Strains of music were 
wafted to my ears, and as I gazed upon all this loveliness, I 
felt as if I would like to stay here a week. As time would 
not permit, we made our way across the bridge, and then took 
a drive about the city. It contains about 70,000 inhabitants, 
and contains many places of interest. We saw the Cathedral, 
the Russian Church with its five gilded domes, the College, 
and fine residence streets, and then entered some of its beau- 
tiful stores. 

July 9th, it being Sunday, I was awakened by the blow- 
ing of whistles, the strains of music from a band, the tramp 
of horses, and confusion of a crowd upon the street. I looked 
out of the window to see people starting off upon the steamer 
for a Sunday excursion. This is the way a Continental Sab- 
bath is spent, for these steamers were loading and unloading 
all through the day and late into the night, right in sight of 
my window. A short distance from the hotel we found an 
Episcopal Church, which we attended. The rector was a 
young man, but he gave us a most interesting sermon. His 
text was : " Ye shall not surely die." He claimed that " moral 
degradation commenced whenever one believed the evil spirit 
rather than God, no matter whether you took the story as an 
allegory or not. Man was and always would be the same. 
He was never an ape and would never in this world be an 
angel. He could not transgress physical laws without suffer- 
ing the penalty for the transgression, neither could he the 
moral law without a corresponding penalty." 

The next morning we visited the Russian Church, took a 
farewell look at Geneva, and left in the train at 11 A. M. for 
Berne. As we neared the city, about 5 P. M., it presented a 



5<? Leaves from My Diary. 

most attractive and picturesque appearance. The scenery the 
whole of the way had been delightful. The lake was visible 
for the greater part of the time, and the Swiss cottages with 
their red-tiled roofs against the green of the landscape, added 
to the variety and beauty. The barns are so closely connected 
with the houses as to form a part of the same, and there is 
such an evidence of prosperity on every side, that one forms a 
very favorable idea of the Swiss peasantry. On reaching 
Berne our drive to the hotel was through streets lined with 
flags, profuse with decorations and flowers, spanned with 
arches, and betokening, on every side, great rejoicing and a 
gala day. A Singing Festival was being held here, and there 
were crowds everywhere, each society having some badge to 
distinguish it from the others, and we felt glad that, unwit- 
tingly on our part, we had reached the city in time to see even 
the close of their festivities. A temporary structure had been 
erected for the occasion at a cost of $30,000, and this gave 
some idea of the enthusiasm of the people. An Organ Con- 
cert in the Cathedral was the closing exercise of the festival, 
and this we availed ourselves of hearing. Mr. Hesse, a celeb- 
rity, played, and proved himself a wonderful musician. 

In the morning we visited the Cathedral, which is very 
old, with some very wonderful carvings at the entrance. We 
went to see and feed the bears of Berne, and then took in a 
sight which we shall ever think of with interest. It was Mar- 
ket-Day, and the farmers drove in with their wives, families 
and produce, in the funniest kind of chaises. This produce 
they display on both sides of the street, and the women seem 
to do most of the selling. Everything looked neat and nice, 
and there was everything, it seemed, exposed for sale : — poul- 
try, pigeons, rabbits, dogs, meats, fruits, vegetables,' flowers, 
eggs and butter. We went into many of the stores, most of 



Leaves from My Diary. 5P 

these being in a sort of arcade, and found them very nice and 
attractive. The buildings are very quaint, with their over- 
hanging roofs ; and we saw a very novel way of hoisting 
building materials ; it was a large wheel, and a man inside 
walking to turn it. 

The Wonderful Clock on the Tower we endeavored to 
visit about noon, as when the hour of 12 comes, the figure of 
a man, with a sledge-hammer in his hand, appears and strikes 
with hard blows, the bell. Lower down an old man, with an 
hour-glass, turns it up and down, and then turns his head from 
side to side ; others go round and round, and a rooster flaps 
his wings vigorously. There is always a crowd at this hour 
looking up, and as I turned my gaze upon the group it pre- 
sented a funny and ludicrous appearance. 

At 2.12 we left Berne for Interlaken, situated right in the 
heart of the mountains ; we arrived at 5 P. M., and found it a 
charming spot. The Jungfrau was visible from my window, 
covered with snow, and two other peaks nearly so. The Hotel 
Victoria is very finely located, and as the air was mild and 
balmy, we could luxuriate in the landscape garden forming the 
entrance to it, on settees surrounded by roses and vines, with 
the snow-capped mountain in full view. The wide street in 
front was lined with elegant hotels, and as strains of music 
reached us we wandered along to see from whence these strains 
proceeded. We soon found the entrance to a lovely casino, 
for which a moderate admission for the day is asked. Here 
we wended our way in the afternoon and again in the even- 
ing, for here, three times a day, could we hear a lovely con- 
cert, and at the same time be served with ices, coffee or beer. 
In the evening three Swiss girls sang very beautifully, one of 
them, it seemed to me, presaging to rival the Swedish Night- 
ingale. A man then imitated, very closely, every bird I had 



6o Leaves from My Diary. 

ever seen or heard of. We were waited upon here, as well as 
at the hotel, by girls, wearing the picturesque costume of the 
Swiss : black skirts, changeable silk aprons, white waists with 
black velvet bodices, short sleeves and silver chains festooning 
from buttons in front over the shoulders and fastened behind. 
To close the festivities of the evening there was an elaborate 
display of fireworks. The guests were lounging all about 
under the trees in the garden of the hotel, for there were tables 
here and there, and the variety of roses was great, and around 
the columns of the portal were flowering geraniums ten and 
fifteen feet high. 

July 13th, though desiring to prolong our stay, we tore 
ourselves away, after luncheon, and took the steamer on Lake 
Brienz. An hour's delightful sail brought us to the train, 
which we took, for Luzerne. Our ride was over the Brunig 
Pass, the scenery of which was very impressive. The rocks 
rose above us like battlements, and we could, without any 
great stretch of the imagination, see castles, turrets and bas- 
tions outlined before us. The grades are so steep that a cog- 
wheel engine and cog-wheel center rail are brought into requi- 
sition during some parts of the way. At times there were 
over-hanging rocks which seemed to threaten destruction, and 
then there were glimpses of the valley below, every little spot 
being carefully cultivated. There were beautiful Alpine flow- 
ers, and waterfalls, that caused us to shout in ecstacies, whe- 
ther it seemed appropriate or not. 

About 6 P. M. our train rolled into the immense station 
at Luzerne. Low rumblings were heard of distant thunder, 
and before we could make our way to a hotel, the storm burst 
upon us with great fury. We dined in a restaurant, and did 
not get settled until late in the evening, for the storm was 
furious and long. From our window was a fine view of the 



Leaves from My Diary. 6i 

lake, but we could not venture out until the afternoon of the 
next day on account of the rain. We then took a carriage 
and drove all about this place of surpassing loveliness. The 
old parts are very interesting, many of the buildings having 
curious paintings and devices upon their fronts and under the 
cornices. We crossed the old bridge Muhlenbrucke, with its 
triangular pointed sections representing the " Dance of Death," 
these sections being but a few feet apart and painted on both 
sides, so that you can see the continued picture by walking 
across and then returning. We dismissed our carriage and 
then went to an organ concert in the very old Cathedral there 
— Holhriche, built in 5000. There was a fine display of fire- 
works in the evening, and reclining upon a lounge in the bay- 
window of my room, I saw the colored lights of the various 
craft moored on the lake, the city's illumination, the search- 
light from the high peaks, and the rockets and Roman candles 
bursting into myriads of colored stars, in the air, and felt that 
such a scene of loveliness could not greet one's vision very 
often in a lifetime. 

July 15th, we went to see the celebrated Lion of Luzerne, 
designed by Thorwaldsen. One will always form some con- 
ception of a great work like this from the pictures seen, but 
all fall far below the reality, and this one in particular. Hewn 
out of the natural rock as it is, it stands out in bold relief and 
entrances one, and enchains their gaze in admiration. So 
faithfully has the design portrayed the constancy of the Swiss 
Guards who fell Aug. 10, 1792, while defending the Tuilleries, 
that one seems permeated with a sense of fidelity that is 
stronger than death. Near by are the Alpine Glacier or 
Glacier Garden, as it is called, where are left many pot-holes, 
so called, with the stones which were thrown out by the rotary 
motion caused by the action of the waters in the descent of 



62 Leaves front My Diary. 

the glaciers, still in them, and here we spent considerable time. 
Some showed the glacier period, others when the earth was 
covered with water, and still others the period of tropical 
vegetation. The impress of palms and shells upon the rocks 
was still there, and the scratches caused by contact with the 
debris were very plain. 

There was music not far distant, at the casino, and a lovely 
arbor of trees, with paths edging the borders of the lake, to 
which we made our way and sat on the settees, listening to 
the music or promenading, enjoying the pure air and lovely 
scenery. A boat race took place within our range, but the 
rowers did not start together at a given signal, and as they 
came back, not being familiar with such tactics, we could not 
recognize the winning boat, and consequently our enthusiasm 
was suppressed. 

July i6th, we attended Church, but as the enunciation of 
the rector was very poor, we lost much of the sermon. The 
text was : " The chariot of God." His thought seemed to be, 
"that though disappointments and trials assail us, as the chari- 
ots of war betoken, if we have faith, we will ever be conscious 
of the chariots' nearness, within the inner circle, through 
which we can always obtain help." 

July 17th, after calling upon steamer friends, we took the 
steamer sailing on the Lake of Luzerne, as far as Vishti. 
From there we boarded the train for a trip up the Rigi, where 
we were to spend the night. The ascent was gradual, and the 
panorama spread out before us on either side, ever changing, 
and very interesting. Qjiite a party were already here when 
we reached the hotel at the summit, and every train brought 
additional numbers. We had a wonderful view of the moun- 
tains, peak after peak rising above the others, all covered with 
snow, and as we looked down below into the valley, the num- 



Leaves from My Diary. 63 

ber of the lakes seemed surprisingly large. Twice we were 
driven in by the rain, but at sunset there were no clouds, and 
so we were granted a rare treat of loveliness, new to us, and 
never to be forgotten. Unexpectedly we met friends from 
Stamford upon this lofty height, in a foreign land, and spent 
tlie evening pleasantly together in the parlor. 

July i8th, about 5 A. M., a bugle sounded through the 
eorridors of the hotel, rousing every one from their slumbers, 
to see the expected sunrise. A feather bed, encased in a silk 
covering, was placed in every room, and this we found very 
comfortable to sleep under during the night. As we rose from 
bed at the sound of the bugle, it was so chilly and damp that 
had it not been for a notice forbidding the use of these beds, 
every one would have encased themselves in them to protect 
themselves from the chilly atmosphere without. Hundreds 
stood, as we emerged from the hotel, clad in most curious cos- 
tumes, and they were a funny looking set, shivering in the 
cold, looking for the sun, which seemed to be for quite a while, 
enveloped in clouds, and in no haste to emerge therefrom. 
At last, after quite a weary wait, the sun rose in all her glory, 
bathing the snowy peaks in roseate hues, and just as she 
emerged from the clouds, a band stationed upon a high peak, 
played some very sweet airs. I cannot describe the effect 
amid those surroundings, but my heart was strangely stirred 
within me. When all had been satisfied with their gaze, a 
grand rush was made for the hotel, and one and all retired to 
finish their night's rest. After breakfast, at 10.30, we descend- 
ed the mountain and returned to Luzerne. 

We took the train for Zurich at 4 P. M., reaching there at 
6. After alighting from the cars, we found in the station a 
bridal party, the bride wearing a wreath of orange blossoms, 
with an otherwise very plain costume. After dinner we took 



6^ Leaves from My Diary. 

a drive around the city, finding it very attractive and interest- 
ing. The College buildings are fine, and there was a great 
deal of natural scenery, grand hotels, attractive residences, and 
the wonderful Munster Bridge crossing the lake. 

We saw many quaint costumes and curious insignia car- 
ried by a Hunting Society parading. 



fIDuntcb anb its Beauties. 



At S.io A.M., the following morning, we left this city- 
en route for Munich. As we entered the station, I was sur- 
prised to see a lovely fountain, with plants surrounding it, and 
as this was the first time I had ever seen anything so artistic 
in such a place, I made a note of it. We went by train as far 
as Romanshorn, then sailed on Lake Constance to Lindeau. 
From there by train, after a long day's journey, we reached 
Munich about 5 P. M, The country through which we passed 
seemed so very fertile, the crops so abundant and there was 
such an evident appearance of thrift, that I could but wonder 
why so many Germans came to our own country. The answer 
I suppose, is the very low wages paid, and the great difficulty 
of ever reaching any condition save that into which one is 
born. After dinner we went in an electric car out to a very 
large and beautiful garden, where we saw much of the typical 
German life. Bands were playing and thousands were drink- 
ing beer at little tables under the trees. There was a large 
central building in the garden, admittance to which was by 
ticket. A lovely fountain in the center of the grounds was 
throwing its cascade of jets many feet into the air, the grounds 
were beautifully illuminated, the side buildings all having 
colored lights and the scene was truly' a fascinating one. The 
great curiosity to me was a balloon made of yellow and white 
materials, in the form of one of those huge caterpillars we 
dread so much to see, and this was filled with people, making 
the ascent to a great height, the balloon being held to the 
earth only by one cable, and this of rope. Crowds were ready 
and eager to ascend as soon as the chance was given them, 
though one told me who had enjoyed the pleasure that you had 



66 Leaves from My Diary. 

to stand, and that there was not sufficient protection on the 
sides to assure safety. 

We heard such peculiar sounds of splashing, followed by 
shouts of laughter, that we proceeded to the edge of the garden 
to learn the source of all this merriment. It was a toboggan 
slide, the cars being in the form of boats and these when they 
touched the water, threw it in all directions, as they displaced 
it, to the great delight of the occupants and onlookers. 

July 20th, two months from the time I left my own 
country, found me in Municli, and in the morning we visited 
the New and in the afternoon the Old Pinacothek galleries of 
sculpture and paintings. Two paintings interested me exceed- 
ingly. One was "The Destruction of Jerusalem," by Kaul- 
bech and the other " The Deluge " by Carl Shoon, In the first 
the four prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel were 
sitting in clouds, pointing to the books in which the destruction 
of the city was foretold. Seven angels were represented as 
sent forth to execute the decree. On one side was the army 
of Titus and on the other, the city, already on fire. Soldiers 
had already mounted the deserted altar. The high priest in 
the foreground had killed his family and himself. Ahasuerus 
was being whipped out of the city by demons in one corner 
and in the other, peace promised by Isaiah to his people was- 
represented by a company accompanied by angels. 

" The Deluge " was very realistic, the ark being seen in the 
distance, while people of all ages were gathered upon the 
highest mountain, some defiant, some mad with fear, mothers 
deserting their children, some praying to their gods, holding 
them up aloft and others in abject despair. There are ninety- 
five pictures by Reubens, one of his first wife and another of 
his second wife and son being very interesting, and his noted 
" Beggars," very striking. " The Last Judgment," by Murillo, 



Leaves from My Diary. 6"/ 

I liked. There are many Rembrants, Van Dykes and others 
of note. 

We took a drive in a high coach, with four horses and a 
guide, for three hours, around the city. I was not prepared to 
find such a large city and one teeming with such elegant 
buildings, parks, fountains and statues. We saw the hospitals, 
public school buildings, conservatories, palaces and public 
gardens. The height of the buildings is limited to three stories 
by the Government. Munich gets its name from the monks 
who used to guard the city. The amusing episode to our drive 
was our being brought for a ten minutes rest to an immense 
brewery, where we were supposed to alight and be refreshed. 
As my friend and I did not care for aught save a drink of 
water, we did not alight. When the guide returned he com- 
mented in this wise; "well, I suppose you would be more 
interested in an aqueduct, than a brewery." After this delay, 
we were driven to the western side of the city, where, on a 
rising bank, was the Temple of Fame, a structure with a Doric 
portico, forty-eight columns and a sculptured frieze. In front 
of this is a bronze statue of Bavaria, sixty-one feet in height, 
on a pedestal twenty-eight feet high. At her feet a lion 
crouches, in her right hand is a sword, and in her left the 
Thaplet of Fame. It was cast in the Royal foundry in five 
diflFerent pieces, from Turkish cannon sunk at the battle of 
Navarino. The modelling and casting took ten years, A 
staircase in the interior leads up to the head, in which eight 
persons can sit at once and from a loop hole get a fine view of 
the city. The guide told us that most of the immense statues 
of the present day were cast in this city. 

July 2 1st, we rose early, breakfasted, and took the train 
at 8.30 A. M., as we had a long journey of 290 miles before 
us to Vienna. 



IDlcnna an^ its SurrounMriGS. 

The journey here, though very long and tedious, was 
through a delightful stretch of country, for the most part, and 
we saw men, women and children harvesting their grain, of 
which there seemed to be an inexhaustible supply. The 
women could cut, bind and load their sheaves seemingly as 
well as the men, and though we had seen women engaged in 
almost all kinds of field and out-of-door work, still it was here 
that we for the first time saw them working upon the railroad. 
With their hoes in hand, two were clearing the immediate 
vicinity of the rails, of weeds. The houses we passed were 
of an entirely different style of architecture from any we had 
seen hitherto, and though small, were neat and comfortable 
looking. The barns were very large and the cattle looked to 
be well fed and cared for. Twice on our way did we have to 
go through the custom house, though this was no very serious 
ordeal, as once the officers came into the compartments, mark- 
ing the baggage without opening more than one bag and 
another time checking it after asking a few questions. It was 
6.55 P. M. before we reached our quarters, having to take a 
long ride from the station after we alighted from the cars. 
We were very weary indeed when we retired for the r>ight, 
but were quite refreshed in the morning, though the day 
promised to be very warm. It vv^as the first really hot weather 
we had had and this was a little strange, as they do not have 
much hot weather in Vienna. We visited the Imperial Palace 
and Imperial Museum of Art. Titian's " Ecce Homo" is 
here, Tintoretti's "Visit of the Magi," and many other noted 
paintings. One by Murillo, a conception of John the Baptist, 



Leaves from My Diary. 6p 

with one hand on the head of a lamb, and the other holding a 
staff with a cross on top and a roll flowing from it with the 
words " Ecce Agnus Dei " inscribed thereon, riveted my atten- 
tion. In the wilderness or back ground was a light. Light 
Coming Through the Cross, by Van Dyke was another which 
interested me greatly. Mary, Joseph and the babe were in 
the dark or shadow. Clouds were above and three angels 
holding the cross, through which streamed the light. Peculiar 
costumed children were very amusing pictures. Their dresses 
were long and quilted, the designs being suitable for elderly 
persons. Most of the galleries we visited in all of the countries 
were in themselves gems of architecture, but this Imperial 
Gallery far surpassed them all. In fact the exterior as well as 
the interior was very beautiful. The stairs leading to the 
different halls were of white marble, the balusters seeming to 
be of agate. Lovely marbles of every variety formed the 
walls, and every niche and corner was filled with some artistic 
statue, or so arranged as to be a place of beauty. We went 
into the Treasury of the palace where we saw the Court jewels 
and robes. After dinner and a rest, we drove for three hours 
all over the city. The buildings seemed very massive and 
grand. They are mostly of stone or granite, and seem built to 
last for all time. The Town Hall covers one whole block, 
and is a magnificent structure. The Opera House is one of 
the largest in the world, for next to the Italians the Vienese 
are the most musical people in Europe. Haydn, Mozart and 
Beethoven made their homes here for a long time. 

The Parliament House is a very imposing structure, and 
with its mass of columns gives one an impression of beauty 
and strength one cannot easily dispel. The Palace of Justice 
is another fine building and I might go on enumerating others, 
but in a word, will say that I was greatly impressed with the 



yo Leaves from My Diaiy. 

number, height, massiveness and beauty of the structures and 
with the width of the many strasses ,or boulevards, as we 
would call them. The King Strasse, araund which is grouped 
so many of these fine buildings, is said to surpass in architect- 
ural magnificence any other street in Europe. We visited St. 
Stephen's Cathedral, a noble Gothic structure built in the 13th 
century. The stained glass windows are very fine and the 
carved stalls in the choir and stone pulpit are specially notable. 

We drove to the " Prater," the great park of Vienna, 
covering 4,270 acres. Here was where the Great Exposition 
in 1873 was held, and here there were miles of overarched 
roadways shaded by magnificent trees ; there was the quiet 
which is so intense that you can really feel it and then you 
had to drive but a little, when all forms of recreation and a 
type of almost every phase of life would burst upon your 
view. It was in this part that I realized the truth of the scenes 
in "Old Vienna" as depicted on the Mid-way Plaisance, at 
Chicago, 

Vienna has over a million inhabitants and everything is 
on a large scale. Emperor Francis Joseph hns reigned fifty 
years, and during his reign an aqueduct thirteen miles long has 
been built and the course of the Danube turned which formerly 
threatened inundation, so that the danger has been forever 
averted, 

Sunday, July 23d, as in most places on the Continent, I 
was awakened by the march of soldiers and the music of the 
band. Workmen seem to be busy here on Sundays as else- 
where. In Luzerne they were plastering houses near our 
hotel, and here they are equally busy. We went to the 
Protestant Church Dorothea Gassi, but it proved to be a Ger- 
man Church and we could not understand the service. On 
our return we stopped in the Votine Church or Cathedral, 



Leaves from My Diary. ji 

built to commemorate the escape of Francis Joseph from 
assassination in 1853. It has 78 stained glass windows, and six 
Egyptian marble pillars support the pulpit or oratory. In the 
afternoon the heat was so intensely oppressive that we wend- 
ed our way to the Prater and there sat for hours in the shade 
of the trees. The next morning we left Vienna at 7.30 for 
Dresden. 

Our driver took us to the wrong station and we came near 
losing our train. It was raining hard, but we hailed another 
carriage, and reached the right station just in time. Our 
journey was through varied scenery. From stretches of dense 
woods we would emerge into little hamlets with clusters of 
low houses, the habitations of the peasantry. Now and then 
we would see the ruins of an old castle. Much of the way 
was through a fertile farming country, with its golden sheaves 
of grain, ripe for the sickle. We passed through Prague, 
longing to stop there, but time forbade. 

The river Elbe flowed by our side for a long way, and 
though seemingly narrow and not very deep, steamers were 
plying through its waters and other craft indicating quite an 
extensive traffic. Our train came to a sudden halt at a small 
station, and we were informed that here we must stay for an 
hour, as our train was late and had failed to make connections. 
We dined in a restaurant, and entered our compartment to find 
that our baggage had been again inspected by the custom- 
house officials, as we were on the border line of Germany. 
The scenery on from this point was grand. We were so near 
to a castle as to have a charming view of it, and all its details. 
The mountains hereabouts reminded me of the Palisades, and 
assumed some of the forms so peculiar to our own Rockies. 
At 8.35 P. M. we reached Dresden and were soon established 
in pleasant quarters. 



Dreeben an^ IDictnit^. 



We were pleasantly impressed from the first with this 
lovely city. We had been directed to a Pension by friends, 
but finding it full, we stumbled upon very pleasant quarters 
with four sisters as our landladies. Our rooms were very large 
and pleasant, and everything was done to make us feel at 
home. Our first visit, the morning after resting, was to a 
gallery of paintings (in the Zwinger), where is Raphael's 
Sistine Madonna. A room is devoted to this wonderful paint- 
ing, and while we are familiar with the outlines of the pic- 
ture, still the colorings are rarely reproduced. A curtain of 
green seems to be drawn aside, revealing the Mother and Child 
on clouds of glory ; two angels are in the foreground. St. 
Sisto is on the right, in robes of yellow and red, looking up, 
while Santa Barbara, in blue and yellow, is looking down ; 
Pope's hat in the corner. " The Holy Night ", by Correggio, 
is another of the 2400 paintings in this gallery. Mary, with 
the Babe in her arms. Joseph and the animals in the shadow, 
angels above, from whence comes the light, illuminating the 
Mother and Child. "Death of the Holy Clara," by Murillo. 
Clara on a bed with hands folded. Priest reading to her, 
candles lighted, and vessel of holy incense near. A train of 
virgins, bearing palms in their hands, with the queen in the 
center. The death scene in the shadow, the rest in the light. 

St. Cecelia, by Carl Dolce. The Crown of Thorns, by 
Guido Reni. Tribute Money, by Titian. Christ on the Cross, 
by Michael Mulcaksy. Christ in the Temple, by Pleinrich 
Hoffman. These are only a few of the pictures I was specially 
interested in. 



Leaves from My Diary. 7j 

In the afternoon we visited the Schiller Gardens, where 
we listened to most lovely music. On our way hither we saw 
some charming private residences. The next morning ^we 
went to the Royal Palace and into the Green Vault, where 
the jewels of the royal family are kept. We saw most beau- 
tiful ivory, bronze, gold and silver and mosaics. The attend- 
ant then showed us all the gold and silver plate, china, glass 
and linen used in the royal household. The variety and quan- 
tity was so great that we could hardly comprehend its need. 
The feasts of state must be worth looking in upon, for the 
brilliancy of the gold and silver vessels, with the rare china, 
fine crystal, matchless linen and decorations, would alone re- 
pay one, even if there were no viands to tempt the appetite. 
Another garden, where the band was discoursing sweet music 
we visited in the afternoon, and also took in some of the fine 
shops, of which there are many. The morning was fine, and 
a stroll by the river Elbe was taken, and the Beuhl Terrace, 
the popular promenade, visited, where were some fine build- 
ings devoted to modelling, which we did not enter. We rested 
in the park, where were mounds of sand for the children to 
play in. At 2.15, July 27, we took the train for Berlin.) 



Berlin. 



It was raining hard when we started, but cleared before 
we reached Berlin, at 5 P. M. Here we were domiciled in a 
German family and greatly enjoyed this glimpse of real Ger- 
man life. Our hostess was very bright and witty, and spared 
no pains to make our stay an agreeable one. Berlin is the 
third city in size in Europe. 

We visited the famous Frederic Arcade, then took a car- 
riage and drove through the " Unter der Linden", one of the 
finest streets in Europe ; it is a mile long, with the Palace 
Bridge, with its eight groups of statuary at one end, and the 
celebrated Brandenburg Gate, surmounted by the colossal 
chariot of victory, at the other. The figure of victory, seated 
in the chariot, drawn by four horses, is magnificent; and the 
whole was taken away by the French in t8o6, but restored in 
18 14, after the Treaty of Vienna. The gate cost £80,000, and 
is the entrance to the Thier Gardens. Among other famous 
buildings which we passed on our ride, was the Palace, the 
Opera House, and University, and also the famous statue of 
Frederick William HI. Passing through the Brandenburg 
Gate, which is 63 feet high and 205 feet wide, having five pas- 
sages, and which was built in 1789-92, after the model of the 
Prophylea at Athens, we passed through the Thier Garden, in 
reality a very extensive park, out to Charlottesburg, where 
there is a palace and very beautiful grounds. Here was the 
mausoleum containing the remains of Frederick William IH, 
Qj-ieen Louise, tlieir son Emperor William I and the Empress 
Augusta. The mausoleum is in the form of a temple of the 
Doric order, and within are the sarcophagi of the four recum- 



Leaves from My Diary. 75 

bent figures, cut out of Carara marble, the master-pieces of 
Rauch. So wonderfully beautiful are these sculptured figures 
that you are strangely impressed with their majestic greatness 
and their pure loveliness. We lingered and lingered here, 
strangely fascinated with the place, which did not savor of 
death, but of life immortal. 

On our entrance to the Royal Palace the following morn- 
ing, we were each required to encase our feet in felt shoes pro- 
vided, so that in our walk through the rooms we might not 
mar the highly polished floors. The appearance of the com- 
pany thus shod, gliding about the rooms, was ludicrous in the 
extreme, and I am afraid that my gaze was oftener riveted 
upon the gyrations of some of the company than upon the 
portraits the attendant was describing in German. Some of 
the rooms, however, were very beautiful, and as we emerged 
from the last one, we left our shoes at the entrance, and the 
fun was over. We paid a visit to the Aliiseum, and took a 
view of the interior of the Opera House ; this is considered a 
very wonderful building, but its size disappointed us. 

In the Hohenzollern Gallery, among many others, I was 
specially interested in the painting, "Antoninus of Padua 
Holding the Christ", by Murillo. The foreground and sides 
were dark, while the face of Antoninus and of the Child 
were lighted from above, and the effect was very fiine. The 
"Raising of Lazarus", by Reubens, was another; Christ is 
standing, the sisters are kneeling, one looking up at Jesus, the 
other clasping the brother by the hand, while two men are 
loosing the clothes ; Lazarus has his eyes fixed upon Christ. 

On Sunday we attended service at the American Chapel. 
Rev. Mr. Dickie preached from Matt. 8:31 : " Suffer me to 
bury my father." He said there were three kinds of men — 
those who are sinful and wish to follow Jesus, but do not 



y6 Leaves from My Diary. 

count the cost; those who put filial duties before the dut 
they owe to God, and those who worship in secret, but do n< 
acknowledge him openly. Our duty is to follow one Master, 
and to let all earthly interests sink into insignificance. After 
the service we met Rev. Peter Easton, the missionary from 
Persia, and his daughter. The weather was very treacherous, 
so that we did not go out in the evening, but retired in good 
season, as we were to take an early start in the morning. 



Mcteba^en* 



July 31st, we rose at 5.30, breakfasted, and were on our 
way to the station before 7.00 in the morning. Our train was 
an express, and we had to pay fifty cents each, extra, for our 
seats, as a lady told us they were equivalent to seats in our 
Pulman's. If so, the correspondence was not visible, for in 
no sense did they differ from the ordinary cars we had traveled 
all through Germany in. The train was an express, however, 
and moved very rapidly, taking us to Frankfort in good time. 
Here we had expected to stay for a day, but we decided sud- 
denly to go on to Weisbaden, and reached the place before 7 
P.M. On our journey hither we saw women making plaster, 
breaking stones, working the fields, and performing all sorts 
of labor. We found very pleasant quarters at the Villa Mar- 
garetha. Weisbaden is a watering place, like our Saratoga. 
There are hot springs here, and the water looks and tastes 
very much like bouillon. Invalids resort here from all sections, 
the baths and waters being specifics for rheumatism and throat 
diseases. There are many large hotels and villas, and the pub- 
lic buildings are on a magnificent scale. The lovely flowers, 
vines and trees encompassing all the buildings are a feature 



f.cai'cs from My Diary. yj 

of the place, and these, taken together with the extensive and 
magnificent parks, make it a place of beauty and a joy at all 
seasons. My window opened out onto a balcony, and from 
there I looked down upon a garden in which were blooming 
salmon, red and white roses in great profusion, and these, 
mingling with English ivy and ferns, made a lovely picture. 

I have forgotten to record that on our way hither we 
passed through the Luther country — Wittenberg, Weimar and 
Eisnack — and only regretted our inability to stop and wander 
through those places so full of interest. Schiller also lived in 
Weimar; and Frankfort was the birthplace of Goethe, 

We spent a week in Weisbaden resting, and enjoying at the 
same time the delightful scenery and listening to the charming 
music furnished by the bands. At the Kursal, a large build- 
ing containing reading and reception rooms, located at the 
entrance to a magnificent park, for a mark a day, we were ad- 
mitted to all its privileges, including two band concerts, one 
in the afternoon and one in the evening, We wended our way 
hither every day and evening of our stay, and seated out of 
doors, listened to fine concerts, with the accompanying attrac- 
tions of a varied landscape spread out before us. In the fore- 
ground was a body of water, with boats plying about, a foun- 
tain in its center sending up its jets to a marvellous height, 
while beyond and on the sides were thick woods bordered by 
flowers of artistic hues, and walks through leafy bowers, in- 
tersecting its copses in every direction ; little rustic bridges 
spanned its small streams, and here one could stray away with 
a book for perfect quiet, or mingle with the crowd who gath- 
ered to the strains of the band. Invalids were wheeled in here 
by their attendants, and thus could enjoy much that at home 
they were deprived of. Did one wish to rise early enough to 
go to the springs, they could there drink the water while list- 



y8 Leaves fj'oni My Diary. 

ening to the morning concert, but as I felt no special need of 
the water, did not go but once. The bath-houses are well pa- 
tronized, and though August is not the season here, still there 
are hundreds of visitors in pursuit of health. At our table 
we met Mr. and Miss Baker from New York, and enjoyed 
very pleasant chats with them, Mr. B. is connected with the 
New York Herald., and they were both taking the baths for 
rheumatic troubles. 

We often strolled into the parks, and here are still to be 
seen some old Roman ruins. One day we took a long and 
beautiful drive, our ostensible goal being the Russian or Greek 
Church, Our way thither led through streets lined on either 
side with lovely residences, and then through woods, every tree 
betokening the nicest pruning and care. We found out after- 
ward that the Government employs foresters to care for these 
trees, and so there are no dead branches or leaves, no under- 
brush and nothing at all unsightly. Ever and anon through 
openings in the trees could we see the five domes of brass of 
the Church, each surmounted by a cross, dazzingly bright with 
the sun's rays. When we reached the top of the hill where 
the church was located, we were denied an entrance, as serv- 
ice was being held there. We entered later, but were quite 
disappointed with the interior. 

On August 4th, we rode in a bus as far as Sohnneberg, 
to visit an old Roman Castle, built in the 12th century. We 
passed under or through an old Roman gateway, and found 
the castle remarkably well preserved, and vestiges of some of 
the old Roman walls. We attended the English Church on 
Sunday, and heard a sermon from the text, " My house is a 
house of prayer;" The enunciation of the rector was very 
indistinct, but one point he emphasized was, that there were 
various kinds of zeal in the Church, but it is the zeal born of 



Leaves from My Diary. jg 

the Holy Spirit that is Christ's ideal. It was a very warm 
day, and we rested in the park, on our way home, directly op- 
posite the beautiful statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I. A terrific 
thunder-storm closed the last day of our stay in Weisbaden 
and on the morning of August 7th, we left in a carriage for 
Brebrich, where we were to take the steamer for a sail down 
the Rhine. 



Down tbe IRbine. 



We boarded the steamer at 9,35 A. M., and were all day 
upon the lovely river, reaching Cologne about 6 P.M. Our 
own Hudson compares very favorably with it, and in many 
respects surpasses it. It is its many, many castles, some in 
ruins, some restored, which to Americans constitutes its pecu- 
liar charm ; we saw thirty or more of these old-time structures, 
and when we recalled the many legends and histories we know 
are connected and associated with each and everyone, there is 
a charm or infatuation one cannot well rid themselves of. The 
first fort built on the Rhine was at Bonn, by Drusus. Under 
Constantine Bonn was a flourishing city, and his mother built 
a cathedral here ; Beethoven was born here, and a monument 
has been erected to his memory. Only one tower of the castle 
of Godesburg is left standing. At Krengswinter there is the 
ruins of an old castle built in the i3th century, by Arnold, 
archbishop of Cologne. The ruins at Rolandseck furnished 
the subject for one of Schiller's poems. 

At Obervvinter one can see the thirty peaks forming the 
Seven Mountains, and the island Nounenwerth, on which is a 
Convent of the I3th century. 

At Reinbroke is an old castle of the family of Isenberg ; 
at Leinz is an old castle restored and a new one built ; and so 
I could go on enumerating, but it is sufficient to say that they 
are very picturesque and interesting and that the dream of my 
life was realized in seeinoj them. 



Cologne. 

Our stay here was short, but long enough for us to visit 
the celebrated cathedral commenced in the 13th century, and 



Leaves from My Diary. 8i 

not completed until 1880. The cost was two millions, and it 
is the largest Gothic structure in the world. It impresses you 
as one mass of delicate tracery in stone, with its carvings and 
flying buttresses and hundreds of turrets. We walked all 
around it and found our best point of view on one side, where 
we could, to better advantage, comprehend its vastness and 
take in its details. Service was being held in the church, so 
that we heard the fine tones of the organ, but the interior does 
not equal the cathedral at Milan, while its exterior surpasses 
it. It must be seen to be appreciated, for no description can 
do it justice. After a car ride about the city, we left at 2.25 
P, M. for Amsterdam. 



Hmster&am. 



Alighting during the journey for an inspection of our 
baggage by the custom-house officers, we reached the city 
about 6 P. M. Two hotels we applied to for service had not 
even a single room unoccupied, but at the third we were ac- 
commodated. Our first visit was to the Royal Palace, a very 
unpretentious building, but very beautiful within, and the only 
palace which looked really home-like enough to awaken with- 
in me a desire for royalty. Most of the rooms were of white 
marble, with most beautiful carvings and statuary. The car- 
petings were soft and rich, the draperies and furniture cover- 
ings of French silk brocatelle of subdued colorings, well suit- 
ed to the different rooms. The palace cost thirty-one million 
guilders, but this does not seem strange when upon the foun- 
dation alone a fortune was spent. The young Qjieen Wilhel- 
mina only spends one month in the year here (April), as The 
Hague is her residence for the greater part of the time. The 
large reception and dining-room used on state occasions was 



82 Leaves from My Diary. 

very rich in sculpture and carvings, and twenty or thirty 
Spanish flags, taken in the Thirty Years War, v^^aved on each 
end of the room ; the attendant called our attention to these, 
saying he thought we would be interested in them. The 
throne-room was very interesting, with a chair besides the 
queen's for the queen regent. We next visited the New 
Church, so-called, where the queen was crowned, and where 
her seat in church is pointed out. There is here a most ex- 
quisitely carved wooden pulpit, in the center of the church, 
and an organ with 3400 pipes, at the end. The seats were ar- 
ranged very peculiarly in this church — the men by themselves 
and the women opposite; the queen, with her ladies in wait- 
ing, near by, and chairs for a iiundred singers, right on the 
main floor. The streets of the city all converge to a square, 
called the Dam, This square is to Amsterdam what the Piazza 
San Marco is to Venice, Here are all the public buildings, 
Amsterdam reminds one of Venice with its canals, and in 
fact is called a northern Venice. Its buildings are quaint and 
the people hale, hearty and interesting. The canals with the 
roads on either side connected by bridges, the substantial look- 
ing houses and towering trees are so different from what you 
see elsewhere, that they possess a peculiar charm, and really 
entice you to a long stay. I would like to visit Holland again, 
for a short stay fails to satisfy one. 

At Rijk's Museum we saw Rembrandt's famous " Night 
Watch." In it there are tvventy figures, mostly in the shadow, 
their faces indicating that they were on the alert for a sur- 
prise. The two figures in the foreground are in the light, and 
there is a woman crouching, apparently in great fear. All are 
armed, and the coloring is fine. 

Another of Rembrandt's was "The Directors of the Cloth 
Makers." This is considered to be the finest portrait painting 



Leaves from My Diary. 8j 

in the world. I was very much interested in some of the cos- 
tumes worn by the Dutch. Some of the women have a sort 
of metal band, worn under a cap, and the band has some gild- 
ed ornaments, which are visible in front or on the sides of the 
face. While very peculiar, they give one a sort of distin- 
guished appearance as well as an attractive one; the young 
women wear blue stuff dresses, black aprons and embroidered 
muslin caps. We left this interesting city at 3.15 P.M. for 
The Hague. 



ITbe Ibaoue. 



Our journey hither was very interesting, for all over Hol- 
land are the canals, and it seems very picturesque to see, on 
either side of the track, but a little way off, large boats mak- 
ing their way, apparently, right through the meadows. The 
hotel we stopped at was a gem in its way, as there were flow- 
ers and palms arranged in a most artistic manner, and the 
dining-room opened out onto a broad piazza covered with 
vines, and steps from this led down into a lovely garden, where 
were fruits and flowers, as well as pets for the guests. My 
first ride was in a tram to Scheveningen, a fishing village on 
the shores of the North Sea. The ride was for two miles or 
more through an avenue of over-arching trees, and as we 
neared the village a most wonderful sight burst into view. It 
was like one of our own gay sea-side resorts, only that the 
beach was much more extensive than any I have seen, and 
evidently a very large amount of money had been expended 
in the erection of immense hotels, and in concreting a very 
broad roadway or boulevard for a long distance. Just as I 
reached the little ascent skirting this boulevard the rays of the 
setting sun were bathing the shores of this Northern Sea, and 



S/f. Leaves from My Diary. 

for beautiful colorings and vastness of stretch, its equal I had 
never seen. Upon the beach were hundreds of people, and 
after a little, lights were twinkling from thousands of win- 
dows, and strains of music floated upon the waves of air, as 
the splash of the waves broke upon the shore, and I stood as 
transfixed to the spot, so wierd and beautiful did it all seem. 
The sand upon this shore (for we made another visit here in 
the day-time) was as fine as silk, and the beach was covered 
with hundreds of those cane chairs so peculiar in appearance, 
yet so nice for protection from the wind and sun ; and the 
bathing-houses were wheeled at low tide right out into tlie 
water, and then horses attached at night to draw them in. A 
visit was paid to the House of Commons, House of Lords : 
and we went into the prison, where we saw the instruments 
of torture of the early centuries ; and then we went to the 
Royal Museum in the old town hall. We drove to the "Palace 
in the Woods," where the Peace Conference met, and were 
shown through the various rooms. The Orange Hall had been 
fitted up specially for the Conference, This seemed peculiarly 
significant, for the Palace in the Woods was a present from 
Frederick Henry, a Prince of Orange, to his wife Amelia. 
It was commenced in the 17th century but finished by Amelia 
after her husband's death, and as a monument to him the 
Orange Hall was called by her the Hall of Peace. 

In this palace were a Chinese and also a Japanese room, 
and also the Queen's Boudoir, all the decorations and furnish- 
ings of which were distinctly characteristic — those in the 
boudoir being all hand embroidered. August 11 we left for 
Rotterdam. 



Leaves from My Diary. 85 



IRotter^am. 

We reached here at 10 A. M., and drove for two hours all 
about its docks and quays, through a park, and through the 
principal streets. We were very much pleased with its gene- 
ral appearance and greatly surprised with the vast amount of 
shipping here. We saw forty or fifty large steamers, and the 
docks were laden with merchandise, and the canals with craft 
of every kind. The bridges were massive and wonderful in 
their construction, and there were many of them. After lunch 
we took the 2.03 P, M. train for Antwerp, but did not stop, 
and pushed on to Brussels. 



Brussels. 



On our way hither, as we entered Antwerp, we saw on 
one side very extensive and wonderful fortifications. There 
were earthworks, with three stone arched gateways. The 
railway was elevated above the city, and the stone pillars and 
railings were so massive and wonderful as to elicit much com- 
ment as to their cost. We reached the city about 6 P. M., and 
were immediately driven to the hotel. After a night's rest we 
paid a visit to the cathedral in the morning. As there was a 
service being held here in one of the chapels, we dropped into 
one of the first chairs we saw, to wait and rest till its close. 
We were soon requested to rise, and when the chairs had been 
turned about, were told that we might sit again. These chairs 
were then so placed that we faced the Virgin, instead of hav- 
ing our backs toward her. We wished to see some very won- 
derful wood carvings here, but the service was so very long 



86 Leaves front My Diary. 

that we had to leave without accomplishing our object. We 
took a carriage then, and drove to the Hotel de Ville, This 
hotel is in the gothic style, and is very imposing in its archi- 
tecture. We drove quite a little distance, and alighted at the 
Palais de Justice. This is the largest building in the world, 
covering 270,000 square feet, and it cost ten millions of dol- 
lars. It is built of white marble, and after the style of Gn- 
cian architecture; it was paid for by the nation; the interior 
is very rich and grand, and its halls of justice are on a laroe 
scale ; the walls, floors, stairs and ceilings are all of marble, 
and at the head of the stairs, as a symbol of justice, is a figure 
of Solomon, with two females, one on either side, both claim- 
ing the child, which one holds. We saw the palace of the 
Duke of Alva, now the residence of the brother of King Leo- 
pold, and also the Royal Palace, 

The Bourse is still another very large and elegant build- 
ing, in classic style. We visited the Palais of the Nations, and 
saw the halls where the deputies and senators meet ; w^e went 
into the Notre Dame and saw the Martyr's Monument ; also 
the garden connected with the palace ; the Mannikin Foun-! 
tain, the Place du Congress, and a park containing a Doric 
column, the base adorned with nine figures in relief, erected 
to commemorate the Congress of June 1831, which founded 
the Kingdom of Belgium. The place is enclosed with stone 
columns, each cut differently, and each representing the differ- 
ent provinces of the country and their industrial trades. 

After lunch we took a train to Braine L'Allend, and 
from there drove in a wagonette to the battlefield of Water- 
loo ; we passed the Lion's Mound, where five hundred of the 
killed are buried ; saw where the English, French and Rus- 
sians were stationed ; visited the Honghomount farm, the door 
of the house still indicating the resistance it presented to 



Leaves from My Diary. 8y 

the bullets with which it was riddled, and were shown the 
parts, all through the house, where the bullets had lodged. 
The chapel was shown us, in this connection, and the fact 
dwelt upon, that this was unharmed. The ravine into which 
the French marched to their death, is still pointed out, and the 
bloody field, so-called, has never been cultivated to the present 
day ; we spent the whole afternoon on this excursion, but 
were well paid for the time consumed. 

We attended on Sunday, August 13th, the Scotch Church. 
The sermon was from Joel 14:4, He spoke of Joel as the 
first evangelist, the first three chapters of the book showing 
his preparation therefor resulting from his experiences with 
his unfaithful wife ; the key to the whole of the book was 
lack of knowledge on the part of Israel. Joel brought his 
wife back from the lowest depths, so we are bought with a 
price. The prophets of old always appealed to a nation, but 
Christ taught us to appeal to individuals, and so Joel, who had 
never seen Christ, seemed to have foreseen him, and so became 
an evangelist, Joel did not receive his call through dreams 
and visions, but through an experience ; Love cannot, how- 
ever, make an individual seek redemption, so many reject it — 
and when love fails there is hell. 

The next morning, after going to the Bourse and post- 
office, we took a car for the Wertz Museum, where was a 
strange and most peculiar collection of paintings, "We did not 
tarry long, for it seemed as if the painter had portrayed the 
horrid and repulsive phases of life rather than the good and 
beautiful. As an example of the character of these paintings, 
was one — " Napoleon in Hell," with those whom he had 
wronged on earth holding up their grievances before him. 
Another, a man just emerging from a coffin, having pried off 
the lid in his agony. We went from here to the Palace of 



88 Leaves from My Diary. 

Fine Arts, a beautiful building, with a fine collection of paint- 
ings and statuary. At i P, M. we left for Paris, 



parts. 

August 14th, the ride was very dusty and hot, with a visit 
from the custom-house officials on the frontier. We passed 
through a seemingly fertile country, and as we neared and en- 
tered France, the scenery was picturesque and lovely. Hed- 
ges divided the fields ; the trees were trimmed low ; and the 
thatched-roofed houses numerous and attractive. 

On the afternoon of the 15th my friend and I took a ride 
on the top of a bus, to get our first glimpse of the city. The 
climbing up the spiral staircase with the bus in motion was 
attended with such consequences that I did not care to repeat it 
for a long time after. I was so nearly thrown off my balance 
by the sudden lurch of the bus, that either I or my belongings 
had to go over into the street, and so I loosened my hold on 
my guide-book, and the loose leaves containing notes by the 
wayside, were scattered in all directions. I tried inwardly to 
be reconciled to my loss, but happily it was restored to me by 
a passing bicyclist, who dismounted, gathered up the frag- 
ments, motioned to the bus to stop and restored to me my 
guide-book, much marred, and still bearing traces of the soil 
of the Champs Elysees, 

Our ride was a success, however, after we got fully ac- 
customed to our aerial point of observation, and we saw the 
Louvre, the Arche de Triomphe, with the full length of the 
Champs Elysees, and then went into the Trocadero and wan- 
dered about in the buildings of the old Exposition, and watched 
the erection of the many new ones. The entrance was a col- 



Leaves from My Diary. 8q 

lonade of great extent, swelling in the center in the form of a 
semi-circle, then widening out for a long distance on either 
side ; the view from here was fine and we lingered for a long 
time, taking refreshments at one of the small tables. 

The grounds when laid out and complete will or must be 
very attractive and I could form some idea of the beauty in 
store for the visitors to Paris in 1900. 

The seven bridges over the Seine are fine ; the Pantheon 
here is a very perfect representation of the original at Rome 
and here is where Victor Hugo was buried ; we stood long 
under the central dome of the Arch of Triumph, for the view 
in four different directions is fine from here ; there is so much 
to be seen in this city, that one can hardly enumerate the 
buildings of interest, the parks and boulevards ; we visited the 
Louvre and saw the two obelisks, one marking the spot where 
the guillotine was erected during the French Revolution, and 
where Murat, Charlotte Corday, Robespierre and others 
were sacrificed ; we have been as far as the Bastiles and passed 
the famous Hotel de Ville and Statue of Joan of Arc ; we sailed 
upon the river Seine, stopping at the Jardins des Plants, taking 
a carriage from there to the Pantheon and Notre Dame ; the 
paintings in the Pantheon were fine ; Notre Dame was massive 
and grand and the columns in the interior immense in size ; 
we visited the Luxembourg Gallery, the sculptures here were 
very fine indeed, and I enjoyed them as well as any I had 
seen ; Pervis de Chavannes had many paintings here, the 
coloring of which were very peculiar, but I am not sure but 
that they would grow upon a person, so that they would like 
them ; he is considered by some as a great, if not one of the 
greatest painters, and some of his work is in the Boston 
Library : Job, by Leoni Bonnet, interested me ; Les Fonrs, 
by Bastian Le Paige ; the Reconnoitre of Faust and Marga- 



po Leaves from My Diary, 

rite by Tissot, and The Baptism by Renard were also interest- 
ing ; the statue of Joan of Arc, by Chaper, was fine. 

One afternoon we took the train for Versailles and under 
the impulse of the moment, and a suggestion from the guide- 
book, rode upon the top of the train ; it was an experience we 
did not care to repeat ; a bus from the station took us directly 
to the palace ; it was an immense structure and the interior 
was filled with a most wonderful collection of historical paint- 
ings ; battles scenes prevailed, but there were others of note 
and many, many statues ; the rooms were all very large till we 
came to those of Marie Antoinette, and this suite seemed very 
small, though cosy ; the gardens on the three sides are very ex- 
tensive and beautiful and the views from some of the balconies 
of the fountains, and in the distance the canal, with the 
woods on either side, is hard to describe ; we took our way from 
the palace through the woods to the Great and Little Trianons ; 
to the latter Marie Antoinette, when tired of Court life, used 
to come, in her straw-hat and muslin dress, to cultivate her 
flowers and play at being daisy maid and shepherdess ; we saw 
many of the Court carriages, and looked back on this trip, as 
one fraught with pleasure and interest ; after a stroll along the 
Rue Rivoli, and a vist to the shops, Aug. 19, we spent much 
time in the gallery of the Louvre ; the Coronation of Josephine 
by David, The Happy Family, by Murillo, Christ on the Cross 
by Reubens, and The Immaculate Conception, by Murillo, in- 
terested me; the original statue Venus de Milo is very beauti- 
ful, though lacking the arms ; the paintings of Messonier are 
among the choicest of the modern ones. We drove for an 
hour, the whole length of the Champs Elysees, and it was to 
me a long-remembered ride — one continuous scene of beauty 
greeting the eyes its entire length, 

Sunday. August 20th, we attended services at the Ameri- 



Leaves from. My Diary. qi 

can Church, hearing a most interesting sermon from Psalm 84: 
T I ; Rev. Mr. Nason from Philadelphia, preached. Rev. Mr, 
Thurber being away on his vacation ; after commenting on the 
sun as the object which all the ancient nations worshiped, he 
raised the query, why this was ; his answer was they worship- 
ed what they saw ; it was the source of all power, and it was 
natural that what they saw that they were dependent upon for 
heat, for life, for wind and wave, they intuitively worshiped; 
then came the scientists and told us that the sun was a nebulous 
mass, a massive bonfire; before this, however, the children of 
Israel were forbidden to worship the sun ; men then said, if 
we cannot worship the sun, which we can see we will worship 
nothing ; we cannot see God ; then the question came. Can we 
really see the sun ? We can see the power of the sun in everv- 
thing, but are blinded if we try to see the sun itself; God is 
the sun, the source of all life, power and order; God is in 
everything and in all our ways ; why can we not believe that 
not one sparrow falleth to the ground without His knowledge 
or that the very hairs of our head are all numbered, when as 
with the solar system, even the minutest planet is held in 
place by the s<un, and there is not the slightest variation from 
the fixed laws that regulate that system ? The sun is in every 
rainbow, in every breeze that wafts the air, in the thunder 
and lightning, in the compressed forces of the air, in light, in 
motion, in vegetation, in fruitage, iii the coloring of the 
flowers, in the smiles reflected back to us from our friend's 
faces, in the limpid and pure atmosphere, so God is in every- 
thing ; if we say that we love God and live in darkness, we 
lie, for where love is there is light and with light comes joy 
and peace ; the nearer we live to God, the more we follow his 
precepts and illustrate them in our lives, will we reflect his 



g2 Leaves from My Diary. 

image in us, and show to the world that the Sun is life or the 
Lord God is a sun. 

After dinner we walked out into the Champs Elysees to 
get a glimpse of Parisian life on the Lord's Day ; the theatre 
was surrounded with festoons of gas jets and a play was at- 
tracting crowds within its doors, the cafes were bright within 
and the tables, way out onto the sidewalk, filled with merry 
groups ; music filled the air, and it seemed like some festive 
occasion ; the next morning we went out to the Church of the 
Madeline ; the interior was different from any I had seen ; 
there were porticos every little way, with statues or tombs 
therein, and the arrangement of the statuary and paintings at 
the end of the church was in quite good taste compared with 
some others we had seen ; the outside is quite like the Pan- 
theon ; this is the fashionable church. 

In the afternoon we visited the Tomb of Napolean and 
Hotel des Invalides ; the tomb is on a most magnificent scale ; 
the exterior has a dome, beautifully gilded, while the interior is 
of white marble, with five or six steps leading down to the 
circular enclosure right under the dome ; from the marble 
balustrade surrounding this, you could look down upon the 
sarcophagus, of red marble, massives huge and highly polish- 
ed, which marks the spot where the body of Napoleon rests ; 
there are a dozen female statues, with wings and recesses in 
which are marble symbolic figures, while soiled and tattered 
flags float from six receptacles or posts, each holding eight in 
number; in the building or tombs there is an altar on one side 
with four twisted columns of black and white marble with a 
canopy over it surmounted with Christ upon the cross ; in four 
different niches there are tombs probably of some of the Na- 
poleon family ; we went into the chapel, back of the Tomb, 
where the invalid soldiers worship. Here were hundreds of 



Leaves from My Diary. pj 

flags; we wandered through the Hotel des Invalides and then 
made our way to the Hotel de Paris, 67 Avenue Danton. We 
left this hotel at 6,53, taking the train for Havre, from which 
point we were to cross the English Channel to Southampton. 



xrbe irsle of Migbt. 

We crossed the Englisli Channel, from Havre to South- 
ampton, spending a very uncomfortable night on a crowded 
steamer, succumbing to the inevitable sea-sickness that very 
few escape. At early morn we went on deck and were inter- 
ested in the shipping and entrance to this foreign port ; after 
breakfasting at the Pier Hotel, we embarked on the steamer 
Lorna Doone, for Ryde ; after luncheon and a rest we took a 
lovely drive out to Arreton, to the church which the Dairy- 
man's Daughter attended, and saw her grave and her home. 
The island measures only 13 miles from north to south and about 
23 miles from east to west, so that in our drive we got quite 
a good view of the whole island ; the roads were excellent and 
as we had an Englishman for a driver who had spent some 
years in our own country, he took great pains to point out to 
us every thing of interest ; there were fertile fields, though 
the lack of rain gave them a parched and dry appearance, 
wooded sections and a chalky formation which was quite new 
to us; in driving over the Downs we had a fine view of Os- 
born House ; on our return we passed some lovely residences ; 
one of the hedges among the many I noticed, was of red 
fuchsias, and there was a blush rose intertwined on the houses 
with the English ivy, the effect being very charming. From 
this time on we saw the hedges dividing the farmer's possessions 
and it was always a very attractive feature of each and every 
landscape. As I was sitting in the parlor of the hotel, I heard 



g/f. Leaves from My Diary. 

the clank of hoofs outside and went to the window just in 
time to see the carriage and out-riders of the Queen ; she 
was taking her afternoon drive. I did not have a view of her 
Majesty, but only of the carriage drawn by six gray horses, in 
passing. At Ryde's there is a wonderful pier, 2250 feet long, 
and an esplanade 1200 feet along the sea wall. Tlie effect at 
night of the many colored lights along this pier is very beauti- 
ful. We went out into the park, sitting ever and anon on the 
settees facing the sea. The breezes wafted to us were cool 
and invigorating and the charm greatly enhanced by delicious 
strains of music from a band. The following morning Aug. 23, 
we left the Isle for Southampton, but carried away with us a 
most delightful impression of this place. The morning was 
fine, and the sail on the steamer very enjoyable. Osborn i 
House came into view and the Castle adjoining leased by our 
own Mrs. Drexel. We stopped at Cowes and here in the bar- , 
bor was the QjLieen's yacht and also her warship at anchor; 1 
we went from one side of the steamer to the other, there was 
so much to interest us, and one can hardly imagine, unless 
they have experienced it, how peculiar and yet gladsome it 
seemed to hear once again our own language spoken. We 
took the train for London about 1 1 a.m. reaching the wonder- 
ful city about 1.20 p. m. On our way to R.ussell Square w^e 
saw some royal equipages, with coachmen and footmen in 
Court livery. 

Our first attempt at sight-seeing was in a bus to Picca- 
dilly, Regent and Victoria Streets. In the latter is the famous 
Army and Navy store, which we visited, and Regent Street is 
filled with fine shop>^. The afternoon found us in Westminster 



Leaves from My Diary. pj- 

Abbey, the place my dear mother had always longed to visit, 
and her sweet memory enveloped me and lent a sad, sweet in- 
terest to all its strangely fascinating and historic surroundings, 
the only national place of sepulture in the world; this magni- 
ficent Gothic Church is the only spot whose monuments epito- 
mize a national history. As we entered the Abbey in the main 
aisle (or nave), we passed over the slab in the floor marking 
Gladstone's grave. On the sides against the wall are monu- 
ments to England's illustrious men — soldiers, officers, heroes 
and statesmen; then you come to the Poet's Corner, where in 
the south transept we find the names of Chaucer, Spenser, 
Addison, Campbell, Longfellow, Browning and very many 
others ; with a guide we passed through an iron gate into the 
enclosure set apart for kings and queens. The tombs of Ed- 
ward the Confessor, Edward I and III, Henry V and VII, 
Elizabeth and Mary Qjiieen of Scots are only a few of the 
long lines of royal kings and queens, whose memories are per- 
petuated in marble carvings of varied and wonderful designs. 
The next morning found us on our way to the celebrated 
Tower of London. It is thought by some that a fortress was 
commenced on this spot by Julius Caesar, but though this is 
not definitely affirmed, it is known that in 1066, William the 
Conqueror constructed such an one and that he erected the 
White Tower twelve years after this. After entering the 
gates, which were guarded by soldiers, we crossed the moat. 
Here the officer scanned us thoroughly and requested us to re- 
move even our chatelaine bags and leave them at the entrance. 
Afterwards I saw a man with a kodak, which he must have 
smuggled in, trying to get a snap shot at a company of Eng- 
lish soldiers who were drilling, but he was evidently approach- 
ed by the officer on guard and reproved for his audacity. The 
White Tower is near the center of the fortress, and surmount- 



p6 Leaves from My Diary. 

ed by four turrets ; the fortress looks like a small military town 
with its barracks, store houses, sheds, buildings and large 
guns, batteries and armories. The whole area consists of 
twelve acres. Ascending the stairs, we saw all kinds of guns 
and implements of war and also the instruments of torture 
used in former centuries. Among these were the neck band, 
the stocks, the grlls, for neck, arms and legs, and the stretchers, 
capable of literally tearing the body apart. On the floor above 
were various kinds of armors for men and horses used in the 
13th, 14th, 15th and i6th centuries; those actually worn by 
Henry the VII, Charles I, and Henry VIII interested me great- 
ly ; some were beautifully engraved, some fluted and all were 
very handsome ; there were also German armors, some of 
which were made of a kind of wooden fibre lined with metal ; 
across the yard was the building where so many noted persons 
were confined, among them being Lady Jane Grey, and here 
we saw many insignia cut by them in the stone walls during 
their confinement. In the yard was the spot marked where 
the scaffold was erected on which Anne Boleyn, Catharine of 
Arragon and Lady Jane Grey were executed; in the White 
Tower we saw also the Crown Jewels ; the crown of Victoria, 
of the Prince Consort and of Edward the ist w^ere the most 
noticable, but the glitter of innumerable gems seemed but to 
intensify the remembrance of the terrible tragedies enacted in 
former times within these same walls. 

Our afternoon was sp^^nt in a visit to the South African 
Exhibition. This was quite like an exposition, as there were 
many buildings filled with all sorts of exhibits, from Australia 
and Victoria land, There were frozen fruits, grain, meat and 
woods indigenous to these climes. There were also woods and 
ore.s, some of tlie nuggets of gold representing large sums. 
This exhibition, I suppose, was mainly to advertise the different 



Leaves from My Diary. gy 

mines, and so the methods of working claims were here illus- 
trated and the art of wood turning. There was a lake in the 
center of the enclosure, with pagodas in which were stationed 
three bands, each discoursing music alternately. Boats in the 
form of swans were plying across the water, flowers of every 
hue were blooming hereabouts, and with small buildings where 
you could purchase all sorts of oriental articles, the whole scene 
made a very pleasing and fantastic picture. In connection 
with this there was an entertainment, giving a glimpse of real 
life in South Africa. First there were brought before us the 
trained animals ; the horses went through a series of evolutions, 
dancing to music in the figure of a cotillion and waltzing with 
the diflFerent steps in such perfection as to make one wonder 
at their knowledge ; next came the trained elephants and these 
so skillfully obeyed the word of their trainer as to make it 
seem as if they must surely think as well as hear ; they left the 
stage, bearing the body of their trainer carefully on their 
trunks, one the head the other the feet, he having been shot 
and apparently killed. A battle between 40 or 50 native 
South Africans and the white men ensued, which was very 
realistic. The Africans fought under cover on the mountain, 
but when overpowered, dropped from the heights into the 
water below, and swimming to the shore, if able from their 
wounds to make any headway. The oxen and wagons fording 
the stream gave us a glimpse of the real life in that far-oflf 
country. We then visited the krawls of these same natives. 
They were built of clay and mud, with no opening for smoke 
or fires, as their fires are built outside. There was not an 
article of furniture inside, but in this rude way they live and 
seem to be happy after their fashion. 

August 26th, my friend and I visited the Soule Collection 
of Curiosities and Paintings. This collection is in a house and 



C)8 Leaves from My Diary. 

is a most remarkable one. It is just as the owner left it, and 
contains many paintings by Turner, Hobart and others, rare 
manuscripts and coins, pottery and sarcophagi, gems, etc. The 
divisions between the different rooms are so arranged as to 
open like doors, the interior disclosing one set after another, 
and each hung with paintings. Among the rare manuscripts 
was one in Tasso's own hand writing. 

We visited the House of Parliament in the afternoon. 
This immense structure, so beautiful to gaze upon from with- 
out, surprises you when you enter and pass tlirough, with its 
seeming lack of spaciousness. Neither the House of Lords or 
House of Commons seem large. The House of Lords is very 
handsome, while the House of Commons seems quite plain and 
simple. The fact is, that there are not nearly seats enough for 
its members, and were the whole constituency present many 
would have to stand. There are lobbies for each, and halls 
hung with paintings. We went into the ancient Westminster 
Hall, where in the olden times were held the Royal revels at 
Christmas and where the great State trials took place. Here 
Cromwell was inaugurated as Lord Protector, and Charles I 
was condemned to death. A sail on the Thames, as far as 
Greenwich, finished our sight-seeing for the day. We went 
under the famous London Bridge and had a fine view of many 
of the handsome and massive buildings and also gained a good 
idea of the shipping interest on the Thames. 

Sunday morning found us on our way to the City Temple, 
Dr. Parker's Church. Rev. J. H. Jowitt, from Birmingham, 
preached. His text was from Cor. 15 : 55th to the 58th verses, 
and the first clause of the i6th chapter. " Now concerning 
the collection.'' He commenced by asking the question 
whether these two themes seemed incongruous, and then 
went on to prove that one was a direct result of the other, or 



Leaves from My Diary. pg 

in other words that beneficence flowed when the ground of 
our belief was in the resurrection of Christ, and could not flow 
when there were no springs in the hills, the fountain-head. 
He added, that as there was not the tiniest bit of glass imbed- 
ded in the earth, but what could reflect the beauties of the 
sun's rays, so there was not the lowliest duty preformed, but 
reflects the light and loveliness of the risen Saviour. There is 
a natural dread of death, and everyone, high and low, instinc- 
tively shrinks from it. No one can escape its resistless grasp. 
Christ rose and burst its fetters and in Him is the spring, the 
source of the river of life, that robs death of its sting and the 
grave of its victory. He criticised Robert Elsmere as trying 
to evolve beneficence without a river. He read what he called 
a classical extract from John Wesley and said Methodism 
commenced when his heart began to warm towards the Lord, 
and that all missionary societies sprung up after his life-work 
was done. He gave his life to beneficent works and so con- 
cerning the collection was a fit result of the belief in the re- 
surrection. The Church was a large one, the day very warm 
and yet there was not a vacant seat in either the body of the 
church or the six tiers of seats in the gallery, and every one on 
entering was handed the order of exercises and a hymn-book. 
The choir was a large one, with four solo singers, an organ, 
two violins and a cornet, and everyone in the assembly joined 
heartily in the singing of the hymns and in the responsive 
service, and so close was the attention given to the preacher, 
that a pin drop could have been heard. His evening text was 
" If Christ be not risen," i Cor. 15 :t4. Our faith was some- 
times strengthened by considering the negative side of a truth. 
He emphasized belief, in contrast to mere opinions. They 
were like the difference between a burning fire and a pail of 
coal. An opinion would not change any more than the pail of 



100 Leaves from My Diary. 

coal the temperature, but a belief was like a burning fire. If 
he and his friend each had conservatories, but his friend was 
piped for heating and his was not, they could both grow 
flowers and fruit during the summer time, but when the win- 
ter came his would show the need of heat. Those who really 
believed in their lives manifested to the world their ability to 
show forbearance in Gethsemane and forgiveness on Calvary. 
His next point was that when these moral and spiritual virtues 
were thus exemplified such persons were believing a delusion 
if Christ were not risen. Death was called by the Psalmist, a 
shadow, but Christ called it a sleep. It was but the entrance 
into life. The widow feels confident that she will meet her 
partner in life on the other side, the prodigal rejoices in a new 
heart, and this aged pilgrim dies, saying, I know that my 
Redeemer liveth. Do these all believe a delusion } If Christ 
lives, we live in him and nothing is impossible for us. Let us 
open our hearts to him and live in him and we ^\vA\kiio~jo that 
we are his. He spoke of his visit to Loch Lomond and said as 
he looked, it seemed to him to be land-locked and as if he could 
walk round it in a short time. He stooped down, however, 
and picked up some seaweed. By this, he knew that it open- 
ed into the sea, and this was like death opening out into the 
wider and fresher life. He said a swallow returns each year, 
upon a certain day to build her nest in the old place, but leaves 
with equal regularity, to go South. How does she know that 
there is a South ? Instinct we say tells her and it is no de- 
lusion. If we believe that Christ is risen from the dead, then 
shall we know, .md shall believe no delusion. 

Monday morning we paid a visit to the Bank of England. 
This irregular structure covers four acres and within its walls 
nine hundred persons are employed. The afternoon found us 
in the National Gallery, where one room is filled with Turner's 



Leaves from My Diary. loi 

paintings and where in the others, I admired so much Sir Ed- 
ward Landseer's and Sir Joshua Reynolds' pictures of animals. 
The British Museum was but a little ways from Russell Square 
and we could walk there in a few miuutes. On our first visit 
we saw famous marble columns and statues from the far East, 
The Ionic columns and friezes from the Temple of Diana in- 
terested me greatly. The mausoleums were wonderful, and 
the famous Rosetta stone, the key to all ancient inscriptions. 
We spent an hour or two in the afternoon, at Madame Tos- 
saud's wax works, but were quite disappointed. 

Aug. 30th, we had to bid adieu to one of our party, as he 
took the train for Liverpool, sailing for home at 5 p.m. on 
the steamer Germanic. After being housed with a severe cold, 

1 ventured out on Sept. 3nd, into the British Museum for a 
little time, and saw a great many mummies wrapped as I had 
never seen before. In one room was everything pertaining to 
the Buddhist, the Shintoo and the Jean worship, and here I 
tarried quite a while. In the Library were original charts, 
illuminated books, public documents and very many ancient 
royal signatures. In one case was a set of chessmen, the oldest 
in the world, dating back to 700 A. D. Sept 3rd, we attend- 
ed the City Temple and heard the Rev. J. G. Greenhough of 
Leicester, preach from Lam. 3 : 26. 

In the afternoon we attended service at St. Paul's Cathe- 
dral, the third in size in the world. On the outside (the effect 
of the London smoke) it looks dull and grimy. It was thirty- 
five years in building and the height from the street to the top 
of the cross is 404 feet. The interior is rich and handsome. 
The singing by the boy choir was very fine, but we lost much 
of the sermon, preached by the Rev. H. S. Holland, from Acts 

2 142, on account of the many echoes. On the sides of the 
church are many tombs, one to Major Chinese Gordon. In 



102 Leaves from My Diary. 

front of the church within the enclosure stands the statue of 
Queen Anne, in whose reign, t7^^> ^'^^ Cathedral was com- 
pleted. 

Sept. 4th, we took the train for Hampton Court, a ride 
of about thirteen miles. Here was where Cardinal Woolsey 
and Oliver Cromwell lived, but it is now occupied by pension- 
ers of the crown. It is most beautifully located and the grounds 
are very extensive and beautifully laid out. We went to see 
the famous grape vine planted in the time of George the III. 
It is 131 years old and is trained under glass, covering a large 
space. Fine clusters of ripe, luscious grapes hung in great 
profusion, and we longed to taste but one, but they were all 
reserved for the Qjieen. Entering this once famous palace 
we saw man)' of the State rooms, and the view from the win- 
dows was just charming. In one of the rooms were many of 
Titian's and Tintoretti's paintings. We drove from there 
through Bushy Park, where were hundreds of deer, all pro- 
tected, for the parks are owned by the Queen, and thrown open 
to her subjects. The deer seemed to be very tame, one of 
them eating out of my hand. Our ride was continued through 
Kensington, through Richmond Park, to the famous Botoni- 
cal Gardens and Conservatories at Kew. These gardens cover 
75 acres and the parks or pleasure grounds 270 acres more. 
The great Palm House is 362 feet long, 100 broad and 66 high, 
while the Temperate House is nearly as large. On our way 
back to the city we passed the famous Star and Garter Hotel. 
A visit to the South Kensington Museum revealed a fine dis- 
play of ancient marbles, carved woods, pieces of furniture of 
the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeeth centuries, fine stained 
glass, china and wares of all kinds, as well as various paint- 
ings. 

Sept. 6th, we went to the Tate Museum, where there were 



Leaves from My Diary. loj 

many pictures of great merit. This building is charmingly 
located, overlooking the Thames, and is of itself quite a work 
of art. We took a cab home and drove through a most terrific 
thunder storm. The next afternoon we visited the Zoologi- 
cal Gardens. We dined at the Holborn Restaurant. The 
Holborn is a veritable palace, with grill rooms, waiting and 
drawing rooms, and here many come in full dress, ready to go 
to the Opera. The band discoursed pleasant music and for 
our benefit played many of our National airs, which we were 
not slow in applauding. 

Sept. 9th, we paid a visit to the Guildhall, where the annual 
Lord Mayor's dinner takes place. We saw Gog and Magog, 
the carved wooden images, which were formerly carried about 
in the Lord Mayor's procession. They were carved in 1708. 
We wandered through " Cheapside " on emerging from the 
hall, but do not understand the signficance of the name, as the 
shops seemed to be of a high grade, for the most part, and the 
prices as high as in other localities. At the Marylebone 
church we heard Dr. Newman Hall preach from Heb. i3 ;i. 

The next day we went in the cars about eight miles to 
Sydenham, to visit the Crystal Palace. Here is a series of en- 
tertainments every day during the year. There is also a fine 
display of machinery and exhibits of all kinds. I was parti- 
culary interested in what might be called a side show, for 
there was an extra charge. It was a collection of ants, some 
colonies of them being exhibited. Through powerful magni- 
fying glasses they could be seen to advantage, their workings 
bordering on the marvellous. There was the queen, and her 
will was undisputed. Armies or colonies of them seemed to 
be put to death at her will, and their place of burial was a 
mound in one corner of their section. On Sept. 12th, we left 
London for a trip of the British Isles. 



104. Leaves from My Diary. 

Ube Britisb IFsles. 



At II a.m. we left on the Great Eastern Railway, for 
Cambridge, arriving there in time for the luncheon. The Hotel 
Bull was not far from King's College, to which we strolled 
soon after getting settled. This is only one of the seventeen 
Colleges, built in the Gothic style, the Chapel being furnished 
with buttresses and with very fine carvings. The interior has 
a wonderful ceiling, carved oak paneling, lovely stained glass 
windows and an organ in the middle of the church, which 
strikes one as very peculiar. An iron gate and wall separates 
Clare College. Here the buildings are less artistic, but the 
grounds are even handsomer. There is a long walk leading 
down to the river, with trees overarching it its whole length. 
Looking up and down tlie river Cam, from one of the manv 
bridges spanning the stream, the view is charming. Tlie old- 
est of the colleges, I believe, is Trinity, and this one we found 
covered with English ivy, and built in the form of a castle 
with its battlements. The Prince of Wales was educated here, 
and I think had his home with the Dean of the College. 

Here are parks, avenues, fountains and courts, and the 
whole aspect is very attractive. After %vandering about a 
little, we took a boat and rowed up and down the river, pass- 
ing under nine rustic bridges and as the bank on one side was 
turfed down to the stone facing and the English ivy and vines 
on the other trailed in the water; it was as lovely and pic- 
turesque a scene as could ever be imagined. Our next point 
of view was the great Cathedral at Ely. It is the longest 
Gothic Church in Europe. It was commenced in the nth 
century, The Gallilee Porch was completed in the T2th cen- 



Leaves from My Diary. lo^ 

tury and the Norman choir in the 13th. No part was built in 
later than the 14th century, and there are all periods of Gothic 
architecture here represented from the early Norman, pure 
English decorated, down to the perpendicular. The carvings 
of stone in the Lady Chapel are very fine, but everywhere are 
niches, from which the images have been torn down and de- 
stroyed, and all the heads of figures remaining have been 
knocked off since the Reformation. The paintings on the ceil- 
ing of the nave give the story of the Creation. 



Xincoln. 



We took the train for Lincoln, arriving there about 2.30 
p.m. and drove immediately to the Cathedral. It is very differ- 
ent from the Ely Church, and from the outside does not seem 
near as imposing. Different portions were built from the i ith 
to the 15th century. The Angel Choir is one mass of tracery 
in stone. The stained glass is from the 13th century and the 
rose window is very beautiful. The Cloisters date back to the 
same century, and there is a chapel in which is a chair used by 
the early Edwards. Excavations have been made and an old 
Roman mile-post unearthed, that was buried eight feet deep. 
Queen Eleanor is buried here, the one for whom crosses were 
erected all along the way, as her body was borne hither. Just 
in sight of the Cathedral was the Newport Gate, a fine rem- 
nant of the Roman architecture. We went up into the old 
tower and into the castle, to the top of the Roman wall, which 
is wonderfully preserved. Down through a hole in the floor, 
prisoners were let down into the prison. Everywhere was 
noticable the same abhorrence of images. At Lincoln we saw 
many very old buildings, and the signs in front of inns, we 



io6 Leaves from My Diary. 

had read about so often. We reached our third cathedral - 
town, York, late in the evening. 



l^or??. 



Sept. 13th, we stopped at the '^ Black Swan," and no one 
could mistake the place, as the "swan" swung on hinges above 
the door. The cathedral here covers two and a half acres of 
ground, and was two centuries and a half in building. It has 
the largest stained glass window in the world. It was built 
over two churches, the Saxon of the 7th century and Norman 
of the nth, while the perpendicular is of the 13th century. 
Down in the crypt, you can see the columns of the old church 
cut off. There are also some of the old foundation-stones of 
the 7th century, and also some of the old Norman. Many old 
buildings interested us on our way to the Cathedral, one house 
bearing the date 1410. We took a drive around the city after 
luncheon and saw the Lord Mayor's house, the cattle market, 
the old walls and gate of the city, and very many objects of 
interest. We got out at the Gardens of the Yorkshire Philo- 
sophical Society, and spent a long time wandering through 
these extensive gardens, beautiful in themselves, but specially 
interesting as they contain the ruins of the Abbey of St. Mary. 
This was my first near view of a ruin, and as its broken arches, 
draped with the clinging English ivy, burst upon my view, I 
exclaimed that in this was my ideal realized. The Abbey must 
have covered an immense area, been colossal in structure and 
transcendent in beauty. These grounds also contained the 
ruins of a castle and also of a hospital. The Abbey was built 
in the nth century. Clifford's Tower, where five hundred Jews 
were imprisoned, we saw on our drive. These Jews destroyed 



Leaves from My Diary. loy 

themselves by immolation rather than submit to a blood-thirs- 
ty mob. This took place it 1190. 



Durbam. 



This was our next stopping place, but when we reached 
there the rain was falling in torrents, so we took carriage 
direct to the Cathedral. This, as well as the Castle, another 
point of interest, was located on the crown of a high hill. The 
Cathedral belongs to the nth century, and is mostly pure Nor- 
man work. The carvings are what they call dog-toothed, and 
the piers or columns short and massive with ornamentations of 
zigzagged and latticed designs. The rain continuing, we were 
prevented from visiting the castle, and so we took the train 
for Melrose. 



/iDelrose. 



This place we reached a little before 8 o'clock, stopping at 
the Melrose Abbey Hotel. A cheerful fire was burning in the 
parlor grate, and after dinner we gathered here, with pleasant 
English people, enjoying both the warmth and cheer. The 
rain suddenly ceased, and one of the ladies raised the curtain, 
calling attention to the beautiful moonlight. It was my first 
view of Melrose Abbey. If one could ever picture a more 
lovely scene, I have failed to see or know of it. I went up 
to my room and there looked out upon the five arches of the 
Abbey forming a collonade, the tops covered with soil and 
overgrown with tall grass. Pinnacles rise from the main 
roof ; there were flying buttresses, and surmounting all, a 
broad section of stone-work, with three openings, the whole 



io8 Leaves from My Diary. 

overgrown with ivy. The moon was shining brightly and 
when I retired, I raised my curtain so that many times during 
the night, when I was wakened, I could take in this view from 
my bed. The early morning found me within the Abbey 
grounds, and though much is really gone, still much remains 
and the carvings have been wonderfully preserved. I saw the 
famous kneeling stone, where Sir Walter Scott sat when he 
wrote ''The Lay of the Last Minstrel" ; and the carvings in 
the cloister, no two of which are alike, all of which are as 
perfect as if fresh from the sculptors's hand. 

There are no two arches alike in the Ahbey, no two win- 
dows the same, and yet all form one harmonious whole. In 
one of the windows, at a certain angle, you can see three 
crosses, representing Calvary. The keystone of one of the 
arches is the head of Christ. At one point, the guide shows 
you a perfect hand holding flowers, and the stone carving re- 
presents the various grains and cereals of the country. 

You can see the stairs leading up to the choirs or corridors, 
where the processions of monks chanted, and also the opening 
through which these same moaks fled in time of danger, and 
through which they could go to the Tweed for water. Here 
are also the graves of Alexander II of Scotland, and several of 
the Earls of Douglas. The heart of King Robert Bruce is said 
to have been placed before the high altar. One visit to this 
Abbey did not suffice for me, for it seemed to exert over me a 
strange and powerful fascination. A grave yard surrounded 
it on two sides, and there were here some very old stones 
and some very peculiar epitaphs. We drove in an open 
coach to Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott. It is 
a drive of about three miles. The air was crisp and cool, the 
party a very pleasant one, and tlie country through which we 
passed very charming. There were several little villages or 



Leaves from My Diary. ion 

hamlets, with the village kirk, surrounded by low houses built 
of stone, one and a half stories high, with red-tiled roofs and 
vines running over them. In the yard in front were varieties 
of flowers carefully cultivated and trained on the houses with 
the vines, the same blush rose I had seen in England. These 
villages dotting the landscape with hill and dale, made a very 
pretty picture. At last, gleaming through the trees, we caught 
sight of the river Tweed, which winds in and out through the 
grounds at Abbotsford, and in a few moments we were at 
the entrance. After quite a walk, we gained entrance, and 
were met by a typical old Scotchman, who gave us much at- 
tention and conducted us through the various rooms of this 
stately mansion. The ceiling of the library is of hard wood, 
richly carved, the designs being drawn by Sir "Walter, and 
taken from the Abbey. There are many portraits on the 
walls, one of his oldest son, in uniform. Here also are many 
rare curios. In the Armory, the walls are hung with swords, 
spurs, guns, pistols, powder flasks and weapons of all kinds. 
In the drawing-room are cabinets, water-colors and portraits 
of noted people. In his study are his writing table and chair, 
many of his books, and there is a staircase leading to a little 
upper-room, to which he could retire when weary, without dis- 
turbing the members of his family. Our ride back to the ho- 
tel was uneventful. 

A gentleman had said to me at Melrose, I think ''Edin- 
burg is the most beautiful city in the world." While I could 
not say this, I do say that it is most delightfully located, and 
that the view from my window at the Royal McGregor hotel, 
I would like to see reproduced, and think it would compare 
favorably with any landscape I have ever seen on canvas. 
Sunday morning we drove to what was pointed out to us as 
John Knox's Church, but upon being told that he never preach- 



no Leaves from My Diary. 

ed in it, so we made our way to St. Andrew's, passing John 
Knox's house on the way. We heard quite an interesting 
sermon from Matt. i6:i8. At the conclusion of the service 
we went into St. Giles Cathedral, where John Knox really did 
preach, and saw the spot from which the stool was hurled at 
his head by Jenny Geddes. There was a fine organ here and 
we heard a little of the service. The weather during the after- 
noon was so fickle that we did not venture out. 



1boli(?roo& palace. 

Monday, Sept. i8th was a holiday, and all the shops and 
restaurants were closed. We rode to Holyrood Palace and saw 
the rooms occupied by Lord Darnley and Mary Queen of Scots. 
A dark stairway leads to Mary's rooms, most of which are 
small and very plainly furnished. Here is preserved her bed, 
dressing and audience rooms. Her private dining room is 
shown where Rizzio was dragged from the table and murder- 
ed in the hall. A private special staircase leads to some of 
these rooms. 

The old Royal Chapel is the best preserved part of the 
Abbey and this was to me full of interest. It is roofless, but 
many broken columns still stand. A beautiful door and 
window and many finely chiselled fragments remain to sug- 
gest its former glory and beauty. The floor consists of the 
tombstones of some of the old Scottish nobility, and here 
Darnley sleeps. How many royal marriages and coronations 
have taken place within these walls and what pageants could 
the walls speak might they reveal.? We next visited Edin- 
burg Castle, from which is a most magnificent view of the city. 
The castle is a strong natural fortress, built upon a great ba- 



Leaves from My Diaiy. iii 

saltic rock, 383 ft. above sea level. It is now used as barracks 
for soldiers. We passed over the moat and saw the prison 
where so many noble men were formerly incarcerated. Near 
the entrance was the famous cannon '' Mous Meg," used in 
1497, at the seige of Norham Castle, restored to the castle from 
London Tower through the petition of Sir Walter Scott in 
1829. We passed to the ramparts, and heard the Scotch bag- 
pipes and bugle calls. In a little room on the ground floor 
James I of England was born in 1566. In the crown room 
are kept the regalia of Scotland. We visited the National 
Gallery in the afternoon and took a ride of about three miles 
out into the country. 



Salisbury Craig. 

We drove, Sept. 19, to Salisbury Craig, from which we had 
a fine view of the German Sea, the river Forth and the towns 
and villages below in the valley. The scene was a memorable 
one, the immense precipices or craigs on one side and the love- 
ly fertile valleys on the other. We drove to Calton Hill, 
which is 35^ feet above the level of the sea, and laid out in vari- 
ous walks and covered with several monuments. Lord Nelson's 
is in form something like a Dutch churn, Burns" is very artistic 
and the still uncompleted National Monument to the heroes of 
the battle of Waterloo consists of twelve Doric columns and is 
called the monument to "Scotland's pride and poverty." 
Descending the hill we passed the Royal High School and 
then through High Street, the old part of the city, stopping at 
the hall of the House of Parliament. The ceiling is of dark 
carved oak, resting on quaint sculptured corbels that resemble 
flying buttresses. At one end of the hall is a window, with a 
picture of James V, founding the College of Justice, and all 



112 Leaves from My Diary. 

around the sides are statues of judges, lawyers and statemen. 
In the pavement of the Court is the stone marking the burial 
place of John Knox, and farther on stones arranged in the 
form of a heart, known as the famous Heart of Midlothian. 
During our ride we saw the house of Jennie Dean, a character 
in Scott's novels, and the possessions of a famous Scot whose 
name I do not recall, who lost all his estates in betting on horses, 
but who regained them by playing cards. He has planted trees 
in the form of an ace of clubs. The famous Scott monument 
is a very fine specimen of florid Gothic work, and cost over 
$80,000. On Prince Street is also a statue to Livingstone. 
Prince street is a broad avenue, one mile long, lined on one 
side with fine buildings, shops and hotels. On the other, tlie 
East and West Princess Street. On this highway are the Royal 
Institution and the National Gallery. The first is an oblong- 
square Doric temple, with a colossal statue of the Qjieen over 
its pediment, the other is an Ionic structure of great beauty. 



Stirling Castle, 

Late in the afternoon we left here for Stirling, where we 
spent the night. After breakfast we took a carriage and 
drove to Stirling Castle. When we reached there a company 
of the Scotch Highlanders were drilling, as they had just been 
ordered to the front in South Africa. The regiment to be left 
at the castle seemed to feel very jealous of those who had 
been ordered to move on, and in fact the enthusiasm and loyal- 
ty of the soldiers everywhere to their Qiieen was very much 
in evidence. The view from the walls of the castle is said to 
be unsurpassed in Great Britain, and as we looked forth upon 
the mountains and then upon the vales, catching glimpses of 



Leaves from My Diary . iij 

the river Forth, as it wound among the hills, and saw the 
ruins of an Abbey, the Wallace monument and the Abbey 
Craig, the Bridge of Allan and field of Bannockburn, we could 
but exclain at its loveliness and beauty. 

The castle was the birth-place of James II and V, and it 
was the favorite residence of James IV. You are shown the 
window through which the lifeless body of William, Earl of 
Douglas, assassinated by James II, was thrown into the yard 
below. Mary Qjieen of Scots lived in this castle, and this was 
where Parliament used to be held. On our way down from 
the castle, we looked into the old Grayfriar's Church, within 
the walls of which James VI was crowned, John Knox 
preaching the coronation sermon. We took the train for 
Aberfoyle about ii a.m. and lunched there on our arrival. 
From here we drove seven-and-a-half miles in an open coach 
to Loch Katrine. The senery was wild but fine all along 
the way, and the deep gorges of the Trossacks reminded me of 
the gorges in our own Rockies. The steamer Rob Roy is an 
open steamer which plies on Loch Katrine. On a hot summer 
day, it must be perfectly charming on this lake, but the wind 
blew and the clouds occasionally dropped rain, so that the 
elements detracted not a little from our pleasure. N"otwith- 
standing all of these drawbacks, the scenery was grand. The 
mountains on one side were covered with a green moss and on 
the other with trees and luxuriant verdure. It was so cold 
and chilly, when we reached the end of the lake, that we felt 
inclined to spend the night at the hotel here. We finally de- 
cided to press on to Inversnaid, and so took places on the 
coach, well provided with wraps and rubber blankets. The 
sun shone out brightly for our start, but we had not proceeded 
far, when a dark cloud overhung us, and mutterings of thunder 
were heard. All at once the storm broke upon us in great 



ii/f. Leaves front My Diary. 

fury, and a deluge of water seemed let down upon us from the 
clouds. With umbrellas and blankets, we managed to keep 
from being drenched, and then the sun appeared as suddenly as 
it was hidden, and a beautiful rainbow overarched the sky. 
We spent the night at a very nice hotel, and in the parlor, 
where a bright fire was burning in the grate, met fellow 
travelers from New Bedford, with whom we had pleasant 
converse. In the early morning, I was wakened by the fall 
of rushing water, and on looking out of my window had a fine 
view of Loch Lomond, and the hills surrounding it. This did 
not, however, account for the splashing sound of water, and so 
I dressed and followed the path up the hill into the woods, 
across a little rustic bridge, where I stood as if entranced at 
the sight before me, of the Falls, the scene of Wordsworth's 
poem of The Highland Girl. The rest of the party were soon 
on the spot, and here were lovely ferns, flowers and trees, and 
farther up, it was said, a cave, called Rob Roy's Prison. We 
had a good appetite for breakfast, and at nine o'clock were 
ready to take the steamer for a sail of 3i miles on this queen 
of Scottish lakes. The lake is dotted with many islands and 
the mountains encircle it, jutting out here and there as head- 
lands, forming inlets of varied outlines and contour, the whole 
reminding me more of Lake George than of any place I had 
ever visited. Among our fellow passengers were a Rev. 
and Mrs. Clark, English people, who had been as Methodist 
missionaries in South Africa, for i8 years. As Africa was 
the theme uppermost in most everyone's mind at the time, 
this chance opportunity of hearing from the lips of residents 
of that section of the world was improved, and many facts of 
interest gleaned from the conversation. At Balloch we dis- 
embarked and took the train for Glasgow, reaching there in 
time for luncheon. We paid a visit to the Cathedral in the 



Leaves frotn My Diary. ii^ 

afternoon, built in the I3th century. On our way to the city, 
we had a good view of the Clyde and of the shipbuilding 
there. Glasgow is a great industrial and commercial center. 
Its population is more than half a million. Near the Cathe- 
dral is the '•' I^ecropolis," an ornamental cemetery on a pro- 
jecting height, approached by the Bridge of Sighs. As you 
look up from the Cathedral grounds, the view of lofty columns 
and monuments, the latest being that of John Knox, rising to 
a great height upon this rocky craig, itself over 300 feet high, 
is so strangely, peculiar and imposing, that you long to wan- 
der through its avenues, with the shrubbery clinging to and 
imbedded in its rocks, but the rain prevented us from in- 
dulging our wishes, and so, with a long gaze from the Cathe- 
dral door, we turned our steps toward the carriage and were 
driven to the hotel. A ride around the city the next morning 
revealed the Municipal Building in George Square, the Post 
Office, Bank and a colossal monument to Sir Walter Scott, 
beside many bronze statues and the equestrian statues of Queen 
Victoria and Prince Albert. The buildings in process of 
erection, for the coming Exposition, we had also a good view 
of. On to Ayr. 



Ayr was our next objective point, and on arriving there 
we drove out to the home and birth-place of Robert Burns. 
This was a little one story house, the kitchen retaining its old- 
time appearance. The floor was of stone, and in a niche in 
the wall on the side of the room was the place for a bed, and 
it was here where Burns saw the first rays of light. The fire- 
place remains as it was, and there is a dresser of ye olden-time 
standing in the room. The original door opening into the 



ii6 Leaves from My Diary, 

next room is well preserved and also one window. Burns' 
mother's spinning wheel and reel are here. 

We drove to the tomb of Robert Burns, passing on the 
way, the ruins of the old Kirk, where his parents attended 
church, and where their tombstone can still be seen. Burns' 
tomb is in the center of an ornamental garden, and is a very 
imposing monument. The Bridge of Doon is but a little way 
off and also the shell grotto. Ayr is very pleasantly located, 
and its low thatched-roofed cottages looked very attractive and 
inviting all along the two miles of our drive. 



Ube IFrisb Sea» 



At 6.30 we left on the train for Stranahar, where at 8.30 
we were to take the steamer for Larne. The Irish Sea, at 
best, is very choppy and the passage, though of short duration, 
tempestuous and greatly dreaded, but the winds had been 
blowing for days and the skies lowering so that it seemed as 
if "old boreas" had lashed these waves into such a fury as al- 
most to defy the passage of any craft, however staunch, through 
her treacherous waters, I had expected a rough passage, but 
roughness would not begin to convey any idea of the sea we 
encountered. The steamer was lifted up upon the crest of a 
wave, only to be almost submerged the next minute in the 
trough of the sea, and the power of the waves was so great 
as they dashed and broke on the sides of the boat, and then 
swept over the decks, as to make one feel as if the cabin would 
be no barrier to their force at their next onslaught. Eighty 
minutes of such discomfort was enough to remember for a life- 
time. After a ride in the cars of a half an hour, we reached 
Belfast about 11. 15 p.m. A jaunting car was the only con- 



Leaves from My Diary. iiy 

veyance available here. The Irish seem to like these modes 
of conveyance, but I felt as if I should be thrown forward in- 
to the street and so begged the driver to walk his horse to 
prevent such a catastrophe. The hotel was reached at mid- 
night. 

Belfast. 

Sept. 23rd found us in this second city in Ireland. Upon 
the principal street was a very fine department store, which 
we entered. The gentleman in charge treated us with great 
attention, and showed us some very fine linen, one specimen, 
having hundreds of different ferns as the designs, and another 
the fruits of the country. He then sent a boy with us to the 
top of the building, from which we had a charming view of 
the city, and then were shown the different rooms where they 
were weaving rugs, napkins, and making up under-clothing, 
hundreds being employed in the different industries. We were 
shown the flax as it grows and all the processes through which 
it passes, even to the women carding it, and the typical Irish- 
men weaving it into napkins. 

The following day was Sunday, and it rained hard all day. 
We rode to the Presbyterian Church, and when the minister 
mounted the pulpit, I thought we were to have a fine sermon. 
His theme seemed to be that we were to be a peculiar people, 
and I thought his church met the requirements, for it was a 
Cummunion service, and no one was invited to partake, and 
the symbols were passed only to those occupying the central 
tier of seats. Such coldness and exclusiveness affected me 
strangely, and when he told his people to look upon Jesus and 
they would become like him, I woundered whether the Sa- 
viour's invitation was limited to such an exclusive set. 



it8 Leaves from My Diary. 

The next morning we took the train for Port Rush, tlien 
to the Giant's Causeway, seven miles by electric railway. 
The scenery all along the shore, after leaving Port Rush, was 
wild, rocky, but interesting. The Giant's Causeway was dis- 
appointing in a way, although one of Nature's prodigies. The 
formation is of basalt rock, and very peculiar in that the layers 
are lengthwise, the round stones, each separate, being laid one 
on top of the other, as if laid by hand. The same conditions 
exist in Fingal's Cave. One to get the best views, ought to 
approach the causeway in a boat, but as the weather forbade 
this in our case, the idea we had formed from the pictures seen, 
were not realized. At the table we found a Catholic Priest 
from Pittsburg, who made himself very agreeable, and whom 
we afterwards found was stopping at the same hotel we were 
in Belfast. We reached here at nine in the evening, and left 
the next afternoon for Dublin. 



Dublin. 



The ride was for 112 miles through a very fertile country, 
the scenery along the route, being varied and beautiful. 
Though so late in the fall, Sept. 26th, the grain was not har- 
vested nor the potatoes dug. So little sunshine prevents the 
crops from maturing. 

The next morning after our arrival we sauntered out across 
the O'Connor bridge to Trinity College. These grounds cover 
42 acres, and the library is particularly fine. It contains 300,- 
000 volumes, and some very rare manuscripts. We saw the 
edition of the four Gospels of the eight century, beautifully 
illustrated and wonderfully preserved. They were found hid- 
den in a monastery. We went into the chapel ; it was a very 
interesting place, but seemed rather small to accommodate the 



Leaves from My Diary. iig 

students of a large college. On inquiry I found that the 
students were not required to attend worship. 

The Parliament, or old House of Lords, was an interest- 
ing spot, as connected so closely with the history of the past, 
but the Irish feel deeply their non-representation in the affairs 
of the kingdom at the present time. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral stands on the same site as that 
formerly occupied by a church built by the celebrated saint. 
This edifice was built in the I3th century and has been restored 
by a Dublin brewer, who has spent seven hundred thousand 
dollars on the work. On our way to this spot, we passed 
through a narrow alley, where we saw the lowest grade of 
Irish peasants and met with squalor and filth. The Castle 
next claimed our attention, and one tower remains just as it 
has always been. This is called the Wardrobe Tower, and 
dates back to 12 13. The chapel is a fine specimen of the point- 
ed gothic style and the carvings are very rich, having been 
wrought by a Dublin man, Stewart by name, and his son. 
The railing of the altar is of bog-oak, and the carvings in this 
dark wood are very fine. We were shown through the Regal 
x\partments. This castle covers nearly ten acres, and is now 
devoted to several public uses. 

We rode several miles out in the tram cars to the ceme- 
tery, where Charles O'Connor and Charles Stewart Parnell are 
buried. The shaft or tower over O'Connor's grave is 175 feet 
high, and a most wonderful piece of masonry. We saw the 
birth-place of the lyric poet Thomas Moore. 

Sept. 2Sth we took a drive of a couple of hours in Phoenix 
Park, in a jaunting car. We had no rain while we stayed in 
D^ublin, and so carried away the impression of a very beautiful 
city. The Park is considered to be the finest in the world. 
There are 1720 acres in it. It is not more than a half hour's 



120 Leaves from My Diary. 

walk from the center of the city. It consists of a wide ex- 
panse of pasture and woodland, and there has been no attempt 
to improve on nature. The Vice-Regal Lodge, the residence of 
the Lord Lieutenant, is an unpretentious structure. In the 
center of the park is the PhcEnix monument, and near the en- 
trance a statue to Lord Gough. Near the river is the monu- 
ment to Wellington, over 200 feet high. When we reached 
the spot where the murder of Lord Cavendish and Mr. Burke 
took place in 1882, our car was stopped and we were besieged 
by pedlers to invest in some appropriate souvenir of this re- 
volting tragedy. At 4 :5o p. m. we took the train for Killarney. 



Ikillarnep. 

This was a ride of four hours, and we did not reach the 
hotel until late in the evening. The next morning was wet, 
but between the showers, we strolled out and got a real 
view of peasant life. We found long narrow lanes, with 
gutters in the center of the roadway, and low houses on either 
side of the street. Ducks were wallowing in the dirty water 
and there were some unwashed children about the doorways. 
We wandered through one of these localities or streets and 
found an open door, through which we peered, to see an old 
woman sitting over the fire. The floor of the room was of 
mud, and dingy curtains were at the small windows. 

We drove in the afternoon to Muckrose Abbey, a fine 
ruin, over five hundred years old. The stone walls were well 
preserved, and the stairs, so that we could go into every part 
of the building. In the old Abbey Church are tombs of many 
noted Irish families. Vines of every sort were climbing over 
and through the crevices, so that the walls, chimney, windows 



Leaves from My Diary. I2i 

and in fact the whole presented a very picturesque appearance. 
On the last morning in Sept., we started for a long ride. We 
entered the estate of Lord Kenmere, and then for the first 
time got a true and realistic idea of the extent of one of these 
estates. The Lodge at the entrance is very attractive, and then 
for miles after, our way led over fine roads, overarched with 
trees, winding here and there, with large open spaces, well 
lawned, the deer quietly grazing, rabbits in large numbers 
hopping about, and pheasants wandering around. 

The keeper of the place appeared when we were about to 
pass out of the estate, and in answer to some comments made 
by one of the party, expressed himself as well satisfied with 
his position, saying, with a smile, that he was a number one. 
The ruins of Aghadoe consist of a broken tower, and two 
chapels, and from here you get a lovely view of the largest of 
the lakes. We left the carriage and walked to a glen. I can 
never think of this walk without a peculiar feeling of awe, at 
the remembrance of its loveliness. The trees on either side of 
the stream, while tall and seemingly in the full flush of a vig- 
orous life, had their trunks covered with a green moss. A 
bridge of stone arches crossed this stream, and vines were droop- 
ing at different lengths from its sides to the water, some just 
trailing in the stream, and for wildness, picturesque freshness 
and loveliness, I do not know its equal. Ross Castle was 
next reached, and from the top of its turret, to which we all 
climbed, was the finest view of the Lakes of Killarney, and 
the mountains encircling them, we were able to obtain from 
any point. The castle itself was a most extensive ruin, cov- 
ered with a very thick growth of ivy, and this was in bloom, 
which heightened the effect greatly. The stonework of these 
ruins in Ireland is of a coarser grade than in other countries, 
but the ivy masses itself over and through the crevices so as 



122 Leaves from My Diary. 

to outline it in most fantastic designs. A ride in the train of 
about two and one half hours, brought us to Cork. 



Oct. I we attended church in the Protestant Cathedral in 
this southernmost city of Ireland. The text was "What doth 
it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose his own 
soul ?" We drove out to Blarney Castle the following morn- 
ing. This ruin dates back to 1400, and is a very interesting 
spot. A tower and some of the walls are still standing. We 
climbed the stairs to the top, but did not kiss the Blarney j 
Stone. The view from the tower is fine. At five the same 
afternoon we took the train for Thurles, passing through most 
charming scenery on the water. We found the hotel full, as 
a Fair was to be held on the following day. 

We were awakened early by the lowing of cattle, the 
bleat of sheep, and the neighing of horses. As we looked 1 
out of the window a sight most novel was presented to our 
view. The main street was broad and long, there seeming to 
be a castle at each end, on rising ground. During the night J 
or evening before a sort of fence had been placed against the ' 
sides of the hotel, and the buildings on either side of the street. 
As far as we could see in either direction, this wide street was 
literally filled with cattle of every description : — Pigs, sheep, ij 
lamb, cows, oxen, calves and horses were huddled together in | 
groups, each owner seeming to have two or three boys and \ 
young men, with long whips, to keep their cattle in place. ' 
Buyers from the cities were numerous, and it was interest- 
ing to see the motion, as of slapping of the hand, when . 
a sale had been made. Most of the herds were marked, and | 



Leaves from My Diaiy. I2j 

their good points were commented upon with much fervor. 
There were some fine horses for sale and I was much impressed 
with the respectable appearance of the men from the country 
who owned these same animals. 

The street was cleared about three p.m. but oh ! what a 
filthy place it was ! We left for Dublin late in the afternoon 
and reached that city in the evening. We were to sail for 
Holyhead the next mornrng about ii, and so took a last stroll 
through the main street and a last look at its many interesting 
features. 

The scenery as we neared the shore was peculiar, in that 
there was less of the velvety greens and more of the rocky 
greys. Our ride to Chester was full of interest, for we went 
through a portion of Wales. Long stretches of coast were 
visible and the beeches, though almost deserted at the time (in 
Oct.) were of so great an extent, and the hotels and cottages 
so large and numerous, as to give evidence of being the favorite 
resort of the multitudes during the summer season. The resi- 
dences all along the route indicated the thrift of the occupants, 
and so varied was the landscape, with lake and mountain 
scenery interspersed, as to warrant the expression we often 
heard, that Wales was a charming and picturesque country. 
One peculiarity of the houses in Chester is that the second 
story overhangs the first, and for a few blocks on the main 
throughfare, flights of steps lead up from the street to the sec- 
ond tier of stores. God's Providence House is still standing, 
the only house left when Chester was destroyed. These stores 
are called "The Rows " and all the better shops are on the up- 
stairs street, there being a continuous covered gallery over it. 
We went into the old Derby House, over 300 years old. 
This was where the Earl of Derby was hidden for months, and 
fed by his servant, who finally betrayed him, and from his 



1 2 /J. Leaves from My Diary. 

room, which we saw, he was carried through a secret under- 
ground passage to the Castle. There he was tried, sentenced 
and then beheaded. From the street, we ascended a flight of 
steps to the Roman wall which encircles the city. We walk- 
ed quite a distance along this wall and were very much inter- 
ested in the PhcEnix Tower, bearing the inscription : King 
Charles stood on this tower Sept, 24, 1625, and saw his army 
defeated on Rowton Moor. The gates of these old Roman 
cities always affect me strangely — they seem to link one so 
closely with the past and to savor so strongly of military des- 
potism. 

"Ibawar^en. 

A delightful drive brought us to Hawarden, the residence 
of the noble Gladstone. His estate is a fine one, and the resi- 
dence dignified and stately, while at the same time cheery and 
inviting. It seemed a fitting place in which to develop noble 
thoughts and originate grand schemes for the betterment of 
mankind, as well as a place of retirement and seclusion 
from the ills and worries of a nation. The pew in the church 
where he worshiped was shown us, and a tablet inscribed as a 
tribute to his memory. The return drive was through his vast 
estate. Grand old trees dotted both hillside and valley, love- 
ly birds were carolling their sweet songs of praise, fine herds 
of cattle were browsing on the spacious stretch of meadow and 
plain, and such a spirit of rest and peace seemed to brood over 
all, as to give one the feeling that, ''all was well'' and in sym- 
pathy with everything that is good and true. At 4.10 p.m. 
we took the train for Leamington, changing at Clews and also 
at Rugby. The following morning was bright and so we took 
carriage for a drive for the day. All the residences betokened 






Leaves from My Diary. I2§ 



thrift, wealth and artistic taste. There are some mineral 
springs here, and it is a place of resort. 



IRenilwortb. 

Our first stop was at Kenilworth Castle. This is a state- 
ly and magnificent ruin. Many of the walls are still standing, 
and as we climbed some of the stairways and from its para- 
pet looked out upon the surrounding country, the landscape 
was a charming one. Looking over the ruins, there was 
enough of the decoration of the rooms remaining to help one 
to picture the richness and grandeur of the castle in its pris- 
tine days, and to suggest the scenes enacted here in former 
years. 

Marwicft Castle. 

A five mile ride brought us to the entrance of Warwick 
Castle, the best preserved of all the castles still uninjured by 
the hand of Time. The rooms in the castle were very interest- 
ing and from one of the windows was a view^ of the river 
Avon, winding in and out, and a stretch of landscape I shall 
not soon forget. The castle is now occupied, and so we were 
shown but a few of the rooms. The grounds are beautifully 
laid out. 

Strattort). 

We then drove to Stratford, and stopped at the Shakes- 
peare Hotel, where everything is quaint, and every room named 
after some play of Shakespeare. We went into the Stratford 
Church, where Shakespeare is buried, and where there is a 
monumental bust of the poet. The large windows in this 
church, illustrating ''Shakespeare's Seven Ages,'' was the con- 



126 Leaves from My Diary. 

tribution of Americans. The Memorial Building was well 
worthy a visit, and is pleasantly located on the banks of the 
Avon. The interior is divided into a library, picture gallery 
and theatre, Shakespeare's home in Henley street is well pre- 
served and looks very antique. We took a good look at the 
Memorial Fountain, erected by Mr. Geo. W. Childs, of Philadel- 
phia, and drove through a finely-wooded park, well stocked 
with deer. We returned to Leamington, reaching there about 
7.15. October 4th found us early making our way to the 
Leicester Hospital, a fine specimen of the old half-timber 
style building. The huge east and west gates arouse one's in- 
terest, as remnants of the old walls of the town. On our re- 
turn we visited the " Pump Room," where we listened to a de- 
lightful concert. 

©rtorC). 

We left by train in the afternoon, and after an hour and a 
quarter's ride, reached Oxford. We attended church, at the 
Manchester Chapel, hearing Rev. Staff'ord Brooks preach 
from Ephesians 2 ; 8 and 9. In the evening we went to the 
Church of St. Mary the Virgin. The sermon was from i John 
I : 8. Dr. Pusey preached within its walls, and here the Wes- 
ley's worshiped, Latimer was tried here, and WycoflF, who 
translated the Bible, worshiped in this sanctuary. We saw 
here the grave of Amy Robsart. 

Oct. 9, we visited Christ Church College, founded by 
Cardinal Wolsey in 1525. The hall is filled with portraits and 
here, once, Charles I held Parliament. We passed from the 
grounds to the Cathedral Church of the See of Oxford. Here 
is a portrait of Wilberforce, carved out of wood. Something 
which I had never noticed before in the Cathedrals, was the 
"Watching Place," a place where the patron saint of the 



Leaves from My Diary . izj 

Cathedral was guarded. We next saw the chapel and library 
of Merton College, Pembroke, Corpus Christi and Oriel Col- 
leges. A visit to the famous Bodleian Library, and a climb to 
the roof, gave us a very fine view of the city. A short walk 
brought us to the theatre, where all the commemoration exer- 
cies of the Oxford University are held, degrees given, etc. 

The next day we visited Magdalen College. We strolled 
down Addison's walk. Eight miles from Oxford is Woodstock, 
celebrated as the occasional residence of Henry I and II, and 
the fair Rosamond, and the drive hither on a beautiful October 
afternoon was a trip long to be remembered. The road was 
so straight that we could look back for miles over the way we 
had come. Woodstock was a very quaint and interesting old 
town and here we saw the house in which Cromwell dwelt, and 
also Chaucer's habitation. 



Blenbeim, 



Blenheim Palace, the gift of the nation to the Duke of 
Marlborough, was of more than usual interest to us, as the 
residence of an American lady. The Duchess was absent, but 
as we drove we saw her two children. The entrance to Blen- 
heim is through a broad avenue, lined on either side with two 
rows of fine English beech trees. The dwelling is unpreten- 
tious. The grounds are extensive, and the massing of trees on 
the extensive lawn is in imitation of the order of battle at the 
siege of Blenheim. 

The view from the house is a very beautiful one. This 
grant of land and 250,000 pounds was given to the Duke of 
Marlborough, in 1703, by Queen Anne. On the morning of 
Oct. nth, we left Oxford for London, and after an hour and 
forty minutes ride, reached the great city at 12.10 p.m. 



128 Leaves from My Diary. 

BacI? to XonC»on. 

We had expressed ourselves to some of the English people, 
as not desiring to return home, until we had seen a London 
fog, and though these are not due, before Nov., still on Oct. 
1 2th, (whether for our special benefit or not, I cannot say,) 
we were favored with one, of so genuine a character, as to 
fully satisfy all our wishes in this direction. The afternoon 
found us at Kensington Palace, where the QjLieen was born. 
The Palace is quite unpretentious, but the park, in which it 
is located, is a most charming spot. 

We wandered through the various rooms of the Palace, some 
of which were very interesting. In glass cases, were preserved 
many of the playthings of the Queen, which bore a very 
strong rememblance to the dolls and toys of the present day. 
Many pictures hung upon the walls, those of the "Coronation," 
"Marriage of the Queen" and "Baptism of the Prince of 
Wales," being the most prominent. Of the many guests pre- 
sent at the marriage, only one beside the Queen is still living. 
On the afternoon of Oct. 14th, we rode out to "The People's 
Palace." We found the palace a substantial, but unpreten- 
tious structure, planned to meet the wants of the People. 
The hall for the entertainments is large and fine and here are 
held very nice concerts, the best artists giving their services, 
and for three-pence anyone can hear "The Messiah" "Elijah," 
and concerts of a more miscellaneous character. A Lord, 
whose name I do not recall, has given a large number of tropi- 
cal plants, and so, opening out from the hall, these have been 
so arranged as to form a Winter Garden, and during the in- 
termissions, here is where the people can promenade. What 
such influences mean to the respectable people, it would be 
hard to estimate, and time alone will determine. We visited 



Leaves from My Diary. i2g 

the work-rooms, school-rooms, etc., and were greatly impressed 
with the power for good these courses were destined to effect. 
There are one hundred scholarships given to the boys and 
girls passing the best examinations, and these are worth to 
each one, at least 50 pounds. On the payment of a shilling a 
week, any one can pursue the branches they wish. 

Oct. 15th we heard Dr. Parker preach. His subject was 
"Watered Gardens." At the close of service, we took a cab 
and were driven to Mrs. Griffin's, where we dined. This 
glimpse of Americo-English life (for both were Americans) 
was interesting and agreeable. A little trip to Kensington the 
next morning we very much enjoyed. 

We took the train for Windsor on Oct. 17, reaching there 
about 11.40. We were shown through the State rooms, visit- 
ed the Terrace, the Royal Stables, and St. George's Chapel. 
Prince Albert's Memorial is fine. In the stables were ninety 
horses, the Queen, then at Osborne House, having twenty with 
her. Fifty-eight grooms were in attendance. The royal 
carriages filled one building, the harnesses and saddles another, 
and then there was the riding stable, where the young Princes 
and Princesses are taught to mount, the Queen sitting in the 
balcony to watch them. 

We visited the National Gallery on the afternoon of the 
following day, and attended a fine concert in the evening, at 
Queen's Hall. To my utter astonishment, during this concert, 
the gentlemen all about lighted their cigars and quietly puffed 
away till the air was thick with smoke. There was a very 
fine band, with some eighty members, and a pianist, tenor- 
soloist, our own Mr. Van Hose, a base soloist, and Miss Sterling. 
Oct. 19 revealed a dense fog. Another fog, equally dense, 
greeted us on the following day, but in the afternoon we 
went to Westminister Abbey, where service was being held. 



Tjo Leaves from My Diary. 

The singing by the boy choir was fine and the service very 
impressive. 

Oct. 23, we were driven in a carriage to the house of Mr. 
Henry Jones, near Hyde Park, where we had been invited to 
dine. This was a typical English household, and we had a very 
pleasant glimpse of real English family life. 

Oct. 24th found us making our farewell visit to the British 
Museum, and taking a last look at the many wonders gathered 
there, for we were to sail from Liverpool on the 25th, 



^be IReturn Dosage, 



After months of most delightful travel in many countries, 
the date, Oct. 25, that seemed so far remote when we landed 
at Naples, was actually upon us, and our trunks, which we 
had packed and unpacked so many times were really strapped 
and locked, and we were on our way to the station at London 
to take the special for Liverpool to board the steamer there 
and sail for home ; the thought of our home and the dear ones 
awaiting us there made us feel that, much as we dreaded the 
ocean trip at this late season of the year, time could not fly 
fast enough for us nor the steamer make too rapid headway to 
land us once more on our own native shore ; we had to bid 
adieu to but one at the station, and she a stranger comparative- 
ly, whose acquaintance we made on our outward trip ; kind 
words were exchanged and we were about to enter our com- 
partment when the guard, instead of assisting us, as heretofore, 
requested us to follow to the office a man whom he summoned 
to escort us ; such a strange proceeding almost took our breath 
away, for why should we be hindered thus in our journey, and 
what could it mean? Rather bewildered and crestfallen, we 
followed his lead to the place where we found an excited 
crowd gathered around one poor, lone man whom I heard 
say, as I approached, "You cannot sail to-day on the Germanic 
for she met with an accident not two hours since,'' Cannot 
sail, I thought; why we must sail; well, after considering the 
matter, though it took some time to collect our thoughts, we 
decided to take the train for Liverpool and there await the 
sailing of the Oceanic, a week later. 



Leaves from My Diary. 

I will not give a lengthy account of our trip homeward, 
but will say, that we embarked on Nov. ist. and soon after 
leaving Queenstown encountered headwinds, which blew with 
hurricane force, for three days, creating such a disturbance of 
the sea that the greater majority of the passengers were very 
sick and kept their berths ; on Sunday morning I managed, by 
holding on, to mount the stairs and to reach the saloon where 
service was being held; but a scanty number were here gath- 
ered, but if ever you feel that you are in the keeping of your 
Heavenly Father it is when upon the high seas ; all human aid 
seems utterly powerless for any emergency when even such 
an immense steamer as the Oceanic pitches and seems like a toy 
upon the waves. When we reached the Banks, the weather 
changed, and then did we again begin to enjoy the sea. 

An entertainment was held at which Lord Paunceforte 
presided with great dignity and speeches were made by him, 
by Andrew Carnegie and Mr. Alfred Arnold, member of Par- 
liament ; we had on board many dukes, ladies and titled people, 
some very worthy of their titles and some seeming to have 
nothing but these appendages ; as Lord Paunceforte said in his 
speech, an ocean steamer is one of the most wonderful things 
in the world, and the Oceanic, a wonder of wonders ; it is 704 
feet long, carried on our trip 3200 people and used 600 tons of 
coal daily : when about to board her with his family he said 
he could hardly conceive of a mind capable of planning and 
constructing such an immense ship. There was a very fine 
library on board, and every convenience for the accommoda- 
tion of the passengers ; as the weather forbade much promenad- 
ing on deck we read many books, and thus the time passed very 
pleasantly; when Fire Island was sighted you cannot realize, 
if you have never experienced it, our joy and enthusiasm and 
our impatience at being required to remain at anchor at quar- 



Leaves from My Diary. 

antine for the night ; daylight found us up and ready, and at 
8.30 we were towed into our slip, where the passengers dis- 
embarked ; our dear ones were waiting to welcome us. Three 
cheers for America, the home of the brave and the land of the 
free, and we could heartily say the best country upon the face 
of all the earth. 



H 61- 79 ,^ 



Vi. ' . . « 








DiJC 73 

N. MANCHESTER, 



